A lot of people don’t like the word rebel, which I latched onto because it gets people to pay attention and it conveys people with the courage, conviction and commitment to stand up for change. “Messenger is a much better word,” my friend Maria has been telling me for several months. “It’s positive. Rebels are angry fighters.”

Last week Maria and I got together for our annual two-day marathon where we help one another set our goals and intentions for the year.

As I launched into talking about how to help the Rebels at Work tribe, Maria listened intently and then said, “ Remember the idea of messenger instead of rebel? Well I looked up the Greek meaning of messenger. Messenger means angel. And angels’ first words are, “Be not afraid.”

 Be not afraid.

Perhaps one of the greatest responsibilities we have in bringing new ideas to our organizations is helping our colleagues and bosses not to be afraid.

• To show the path to a new and better way with kindness and purposefulness.
• To help people understand the difference between risk and uncertainty.
•  To balance experimenting and acting recklessly.
• To acknowledge grief being about letting go what we once excelled at, and which is no longer relevant.
• To recognize fear and lead fearlessly despite uncertainty.

As messengers of change our responsibility, like angels, is guiding influence.

And making it safe for people to step into new ways.