Before I start, I want to present a chat with Claude, At the moment, Claude is, for my needs, better than ChatGPT. I have attended a course about innovation and the need of a fitting culture at Udemy: Leading Innovation – Changing Corporate Culture.
This I have learned already, when I was attending two courses to become a certified Digital Transformation Manager and a Chief Digital Officer. My, very esteemed, Tutor told us about the importance of a healthy company culture and that any step towards the future wouldn’t be successfull when the culture wasn’t right.
In a video the term “Medal of definience” was named, but not really deeper explained. Beut hey! Why do we have the luxury having the luxury to be assisted by AI? 😉 Here’s the chat:
Me: Good evening dear claude. Rob here 🙂
Claude: Good evening Rob! How are you today? 🙂
Me: Fine, thank you. I am attending a course about innovation and the importance to change the company culture. The topic medal of defiance was talked about. Would you be so kind to tell me more?
Claude: “Medal of Defiance” in the context of organizational culture and innovation typically refers to recognizing and celebrating individuals who constructively challenge the status quo or stand up for important changes, despite facing resistance.
The concept is about acknowledging those who:
1. Show courage in questioning established practices
2. Propose innovative solutions even when they might face pushback
3. Persistently advocate for positive changes
4. Navigate organizational resistance professionally and constructively
The “medal” part symbolically rewards this behavior, sending a message that constructive defiance is not just acceptable but valuable for the organization’s growth and innovation.
This concept connects to the idea that successful innovation often requires someone to:
- Challenge conventional wisdom
- Push through organizational inertia
- Take calculated risks
- Stand firm on important principles
Would you like me to elaborate on how this concept is typically implemented in organizations, or would you prefer to hear about the “Model of Defiance” next?
Me: Does this connect to an agile transformation, to implement an agile culture?
Claude: Yes, absolutely! The Medal of Defiance concept strongly connects with agile transformation and culture in several key ways:
1. Agile Values Alignment
- Embraces “responding to change over following a plan” (Agile Manifesto)
- Supports “individuals and interactions over processes and tools”
- Encourages questioning established procedures when they don’t serve the purpose
2. Transformation Support
- Helps break down traditional hierarchical thinking
- Rewards those who champion agile practices despite organizational resistance
- Supports change agents who often face pushback during agile transformations
3. Cultural Elements
- Promotes psychological safety – people feel safe to speak up
- Encourages experimentation and learning from failure
- Supports servant leadership by recognizing those who drive positive change
4. Agile Behaviors
- Promotes continuous improvement (Kaizen mindset)
- Encourages self-organizing teams
- Values transparency and open feedback
- Supports “fail fast, learn faster” mentality
5. Change Management
- Helps identify and celebrate change champions
- Creates role models for others in the organization
- Makes the cultural transformation more visible and tangible
Would you like me to elaborate on any of these aspects or share specific examples of how organizations have used this concept in their agile transformations?
Me: Just a thought. During any kind of transformation (Agile, Digital and currently AI) promoters in the teams are needed. Because they ae on eye leve with the coleagues which makes it less “top down”. Would the person(s) who has/have the biggest succes been rewarded with the medal of defience?
Claude: Yes, that’s exactly right! This is a very insightful observation about change management and organizational transformation.
The “Medal of Defiance” would be particularly meaningful for these team-level promoters or champions because:
1. Peer Influence
- They have authentic credibility with colleagues
- Their success stories are more relatable
- They can translate high-level transformation goals into practical day-to-day changes
- They understand local team context and challenges
2. Bottom-up Change
- They demonstrate that change isn’t just a management directive
- They prove transformation can work “in the trenches”
- They help create organic, sustainable change
- They reduce resistance by showing real benefits
3. Recognition Criteria
These promoters often:
- Take initiative without being asked
- Help others embrace new ways of working
- Show practical results
- Navigate resistance constructively
- Build bridges between “old” and “new” ways
- Act as informal leaders
So yes, recognizing these successful promoters with a Medal of Defiance would:
- Validate their efforts
- Create visible role models
- Encourage others to step up
- Show management’s commitment to bottom-up transformation
- Help create a movement rather than just a mandate
Me: It seems, I got the right thoughts 🙂
Claude: Indeed you did! 😊 You’ve grasped a really important insight about successful transformations – that they often succeed or fail based on these key people within teams who can influence and inspire their peers naturally.
It’s particularly relevant today with AI transformation, as you mentioned. Just like with previous agile and digital transformations, having respected team members who can demystify AI, show practical applications, and help colleagues overcome their concerns is incredibly valuable. These “champions” often achieve more genuine buy-in than any top-down mandate could.
Your understanding of linking this to the Medal of Defiance concept shows you’ve made a great connection between change management theory and practical implementation. It’s about recognizing and celebrating those who help drive change from within, making the transformation feel more authentic and achievable to their colleagues.
I felt the need, to write about this experience as a part of my learning experience attending the course. I will write about the topic of the course, after I have finsished the current ad a following course from the same author Paul Sloane https://uk.linkedin.com/in/paulsloane.
