In Praise of the Magnificent Misfit - Why workplaces need the weird, the intense, and the gloriously off-script

The Misfit Archetype

I have never belonged in a beige boardroom and thank God for that.

I’ve always been intense. I’m emotionally wired like a cathedral bell. It took me years to stop apologising for it but I’ve finally accepted that my intensity is a gift, not a liability.

Equally, I’m painfully aware that a team made entirely of my clones would be an unmitigated disaster.

High-performing teams need balance – different energies and different viewpoints. I will argue (very strongly and with unnecessary hand-gestures) that there’s room for every kind of person on a team. In fact, those differences are precisely what make a team successful.

Misfits aren’t broken - they’re brilliant in disguise. From the outrageously flamboyant and technicolour (hello), to the quiet, precise, introvert (I’m not naming names, but you know who you are), everybody brings something unique. I bring the fire – the enthusiasm that rallies people behind a new idea. Others bring the calm, the method, the glorious follow through.

We all matter. We are all required. No one kind of person is superior to the next.

The Workplace Problem: We Say ‘Belonging,’ But We Mean ‘Blend In’

Let’s be honest: a lot of workplaces talk about belonging when what they really mean is assimilation. They celebrate individuality until it’s inconvenient. They encourage speaking up unless it challenges comfort. They say ‘bring your whole self’ but silently edit what’s welcome.

At Iconic, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what belonging actually means and here’s what we’ve learned:

• Belonging is not about sameness.

• It’s not about polishing yourself into some beige version of acceptability.

• It’s about being seen, valued, and included, without having to leave the very things that make you unique at the door.

Belonging takes bravery from all parties. It takes bravery to allow your true self to be visible. It takes bravery not only to invite difference, but then embrace it once you discover it. It takes bravery to stay present when it’s awkward, or hard, or outside your personal preference.

Belonging isn’t about polishing yourself into a beige version of acceptability.

Bravery also takes consistency. The culture you feel in a team is built not in strategy documents, but in micro-interactions:

• Who’s listened to?

• Who’s invited in?

• Who’s allowed to be imperfect?

• Who’s trusted when they say, ‘I’m not okay today’?

Culture is what we do when no one’s watching and every interaction is a transaction. We’re either making deposits, through praise, kindness, inclusion, or withdrawals, through dismissal, criticism, or silence.

Belonging isn’t passive. It’s created - on purpose, every single day.

What Magnificent Misfits Bring

Magnificent misfits don’t always glide neatly into a team dynamic but, when the culture is right, they make it extraordinary. They bring depth, perspective, challenge, and truth.

Some misfits arrive like fireworks - loud, passionate, impossible to miss. Others slip in quietly, seeing what others don’t, noticing what others overlook. Some lead with emotion, others with rigour. Some bring wild energy, some bring steadiness. All of them matter.

I come with fire, enthusiasm, and more feelings than strictly necessary. Darren is another kind - measured, calm, endlessly consistent. Others in our team are quietly introverted, high-energy and extroverted, detail-driven, intuitive, analytical, peaceful, playful… the range is wide, and every part of it is valuable.

Every person brings something we didn’t know we needed until they arrived.

Innovation doesn’t come from everyone thinking the same. It comes from the friction between difference and trust.

Here’s the truth: misfits aren’t broken, they’re just uncategorisable. When you stop expecting people to blend in, they start showing up as themselves.

I’ve been told I’m ‘too much’. I’m too intense, too passionate, too emotional, but those traits helped build this business. They held us together when things fell apart and they’re part of what makes our culture ours. So are the quieter strengths: the patience, the stability, the slow-burn brilliance that only reveals itself in the right conditions.

At Iconic, we don’t just tolerate difference - we depend on it. I bring the fire and others bring structure, calm, detail, restraint. None of us could do this alone. We are, in every sense, a high-performing team that’s made stronger by contrast.

Here’s the thing: innovation doesn’t come from everyone thinking the same. It comes from the friction between difference and trust, from the conversations that push us somewhere better, from the willingness to let people be gloriously themselves, and to value what they bring, even when it doesn’t match what we would have brought.

The Leadership Challenge: Holding Space for Difference - Your Company Culture

To build a team that genuinely includes misfits, not just tolerates them, leaders must lead differently.

Rewarding neatness whilst demanding innovation does not work. Favouring ease whilst hoping for emotional honesty is unrealistic. Declaring a love of difference whilst shutting down at the first sign of discomfort is performative, not principled.

Making space for difference requires maturity. It demands a willingness to sit with discomfort, to hear feedback without defensiveness, and to make room for people who don’t think, feel, or operate like you. Recognise that they bring something the team would be poorer without.

The first myth to dismantle is ‘cultural fit.’ At Iconic, we have a very simple rule: don’t be an arsehole. That’s the line. If someone is kind, open, and fundamentally decent, they belong. Culture does not require uniformity. A healthy company culture flexes. It grows in response to the people within it. Leaders are responsible for creating the conditions in which that growth is possible.

Leadership isn’t just about setting direction. It’s about creating conditions.

Strong culture isn’t built by filtering people out. It’s built by drawing people in, then doing the emotional labour of learning how to work together in all our difference.

This includes noticing when someone’s energy or style diverges from your own and choosing curiosity instead of correction. It includes asking, ‘Is this working for you?’ and genuinely listening to the answer.

Psychological safety doesn’t mean comfort. It means clarity, consistency, and the kind of grounded fairness that remains steady even under pressure, even in conflict, even when difference feels inconvenient.

Leadership isn’t only about setting direction. It is about creating conditions. Where those conditions are right, misfits do not merely survive - they thrive and they belong.

A Call to Arms (and Hearts)

Misfits are not optional extras. They are not projects to manage or quirks to accommodate. They are the very heart of what makes a culture resilient, creative, and alive.

You are neither too much nor too little. You are not a problem to be solved. You are not here by accident.

A truly inclusive team doesn’t just allow difference - it expects it. It welcomes people who challenge the norm, who don’t fit the mould, who bring a different kind of strength.

Belonging is not something people feel automatically. It is something we create through attention, through courage, through the thousands of choices we make in how we treat one another each day.

To the misfits reading this: you are not too much nor too little. You are not a problem to be solved. You are not here by accident. You are necessary, and you are allowed to take up space.

To the leaders: notice who is shrinking in your team. Pay attention to who’s edited themselves just to stay in the room, who’s weighing up every word they say. Ask yourself what kind of culture your actions are shaping - not your words, but your actual behaviour.

Culture is not a poster. It’s what we do when no one is watching.

The strongest, most human cultures, where belonging is real and difference is honoured, do not emerge by chance. They are forged with intention, shaped by bravery, and made extraordinary by the magnificent misfits within them.

Author

Lizzie Hewitt

Lizzie is the CEO of Iconic Project Management and the driving force behind its bold, people-first culture. Known for her blend of strategic clarity and creative flair, she leads with purpose, passion, and just the right amount of rebellion. Lizzie builds resilient teams, delivers impactful results, and is quietly transforming the construction industry into a space where both people and projects are empowered to thrive.