Completely agree. One of the quickest ways to burn bridges and ensure you are perceived as caring more about your own ego and "needs" than anything else, is to re-implement something without talking to anyone about it, be they the authors, stakeholders or 3rd-party dependents. This kind of "look at me, manager! look what I did!" behavior is the cancerous seed of a team ruled by self-seeking and ego.

If your needs would benefit the whole and are not a mere excuse for egoism, but are not aligned with the company/team, get another job.

In the end, the author learned a lesson, but the wrong one. It's not that you should listen when voices of dissent shout in your ear, but that you should simply foster a general environment of open communication, and discourage action-without-coordination.