What does being subversive mean?
And no, it doesn't mean destroying the system.
"Subversive" is an intriguing word. It comes from the Latin term subvertere, meaning ‘to overthrow,’ but it doesn’t specify what is being overthrown—or why. Historically, the word has often been used to describe actions or people that opposed a ruling government, sometimes even referring to actual saboteurs.
But the meaning doesn’t stop there. Over time, "subversive" has also been applied to ideas, commentary, jokes, and even cartoons that poke fun at the establishment, politicians, or the hierarchy. Essentially, anything—or anyone—that challenges the dominant way of thinking has been branded subversive.
In fact, the term became so widely used that its meaning became, as one critic noted1, "so elastic as to be virtually devoid of meaning," doing little more than signal "the vulnerability of modern systems to all kinds of covert assaults." That elasticity is part of what makes the word—and the concept—so fascinating.
The idea of Subversive Management takes its inspiration from Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner’s book Teaching as a Subversive Activity. In it, the authors operate from two core assumptions: (1) that society faces unprecedented and difficult challenges, and (2) that something can be done about them.
Swap out ‘society’ with ‘modern organisations,’ and you have the driving philosophy behind subversive management: Management can, and should, be a subversive activity.
What does that mean in practice? For us, being a subversive manager doesn’t mean actively working to tear down "the system." Instead, it’s about making that system more human-centered—overturning the practices that dehumanise employees, stifle creativity, and reduce management to nothing more than rigid compliance. We believe that management, one of the system’s own tools, can be used to challenge and reshape it from the inside out.
So, subversion in this context means working against the system as it currently exists—not to destroy it, but to remake it in a way that prioritises people over processes, creativity over control, and innovation over tradition.
Rosenau, William, Subversion and Insurgency: RAND Counterinsurgency Study -- Paper 2. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2007.