“If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.”

This is important in an environment for rebel talent to thrive in. Members of psychologically safe teams aren’t afraid of admitting to errors and discussing these openly nor would you fear being embarrassed about asking unorthodox questions, ideas or doubts.

Psychological Safety

When we open ourselves to curiosity, we are more apt to reframe situations in a positive way. Curiosity makes us much more likely to view a tough problem at work as an interesting challenge to take on.Curious people seem to have a natural inclination to ask questions – both at work and in life as we get older. To foster curiosity means to be open in saying “I don’t know but let’s find out” or encouraging people to ask “What if …?”

Curiosity

These five key ‘rebel traits’ represent paths to engagement:<ul><li>Novelty: It allows us to fight the boredom that comes with routines and traditions.</li><li>Curiosity: It allows us to combat the tendency to stick with the status quo.</li><li>Perspective: It allows us to rebel against our narrow focus when we approach problems or decisions, which usually include only one view – our own.</li><li>Diversity: It allows us to defy the stereotypes that are so ingrained in human nature.</li><li>Authenticity: It allows us to be honest about our preferences, emotions and beliefs.</li></ul>

How “rebels are engaged

It means being able to be your ‘true self’ at work, and throwing this into the mix when tackling tough challenges or coming up with new ideas. This doesn’t mean that one’s ability to be authentic can be abused to behave negatively or to disrespect other people’s authentic selves. Instead, the value of authenticity and humor comes particularly in times of change, where it can help people thrive.

Authenticity

Rebels know that to effectively leverage differences, their organizations should work beyond race and gender.In the rebel mind, all differences matter, and diversity isn’t a quota system but a long-range vision for growth.

The role of diversity

“When we challenge ourselves to move beyond what we know and can do well, we rebel against the comfortable cocoon of the status quo, improving ourselves and positioning ourselves to contribute more to our partners, coworkers, and organizations”

Counterfactual thinking means forgetting what you know and considering a situation from a fresh perspective. This way of thinking is also referred to as “the beginner's mindset” or “unlearning”.Rebel talent will always try to broaden their perspective and thus mitigate the “curse of knowledge” (overestimating the amount of knowledge that we or others have).

Perspective: counterfactual thinking

To be able to question, challenge, and innovate, we need to constantly frame our work around learning goals.These learning goals can cover us developing our competence, acquiring new skills, or mastering new situations.

Continuous Learning

Exploitation involves improving and refining existing products and processes. This typically happens through a focus on efficiency and execution.In contrast, the focus of exploration is on identifying new ideas and ways of doing things. This involves things like risk-taking and experimentation.

Novelty: exploitation and exploration

“In this groundbreaking book, Francesca Gino shows us how to spark creativity, excel at work, and become happier: By learning to rebel.” — Charles Duhigg, New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better Do you want to follow a script — or write your own story? Award-winning Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino shows us why the most successful among us break the rules, and how rebellion brings joy and meaning into our lives. Rebels have a bad reputation. We think of them as troublemakers, outcasts, contrarians: those colleagues, friends, and family members who complicate seemingly straightforward decisions, create chaos, and disagree when everyone else is in agreement. But in truth, rebels are also those among us who change the world for the better with their unconventional outlooks. Instead of clinging to what is safe and familiar, and falling back on routines and tradition, rebels defy the status quo. They are masters of innovation and reinvention, and they have a lot to teach us. Francesca Gino, a behavioral scientist and professor at Harvard Business School, has spent more than a decade studying rebels at organizations around the world, from high-end boutiques in Italy’s fashion capital, to the World’s Best Restaurant, to a thriving fast food chain, to an award-winning computer animation studio. In her work, she has identified leaders and employees who exemplify “rebel talent,” and whose examples we can all learn to embrace. Gino argues that the future belongs to the rebel — and that there’s a rebel in each of us. We live in turbulent times, when competition is fierce, reputations are easily tarnished on social media, and the world is more divided than ever before. In this cutthroat environment, cultivating rebel talent is what allows businesses to evolve and to prosper. And rebellion has an added benefit beyond the workplace: it leads to a more vital, engaged, and fulfilling life. Whether you want to inspire others to action, build a business, or build more meaningful relationships, Rebel Talent will show you how to succeed — by breaking all the rules.

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“In this groundbreaking book, Francesca Gino shows us how to spark creativity, excel at work, and become happier: By learning to rebel.”   — Charles Duhigg, New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better Do you want to follow a script — or write your own story?Award-winning Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino shows us why the most successful among us break the rules, and how rebellion brings joy and meaning into our lives.Rebels have a bad reputation. We think of them as troublemakers, outcasts, contrarians: those colleagues, friends, and family members who complicate seemingly straightforward decisions, create chaos, and disagree when everyone else is in agreement. But in truth, rebels are also those among us who change the world for the better with their unconventional outlooks. Instead of clinging to what is safe and familiar, and falling back on routines and tradition, rebels defy the status quo. They are masters of innovation and reinvention, and they have a lot to teach us.Francesca Gino, a behavioral scientist and professor at Harvard Business School, has spent more than a decade studying rebels at organizations around the world, from high-end boutiques in Italy’s fashion capital, to the World’s Best Restaurant, to a thriving fast food chain, to an award-winning computer animation studio. In her work, she has identified leaders and employees who exemplify “rebel talent,” and whose examples we can all learn to embrace.Gino argues that the future belongs to the rebel — and that there’s a rebel in each of us. We live in turbulent times, when competition is fierce, reputations are easily tarnished on social media, and the world is more divided than ever before. In this cutthroat environment, cultivating rebel talent is what allows businesses to evolve and to prosper. And rebellion has an added benefit beyond the workplace: it leads to a more vital, engaged, and fulfilling life.Whether you want to inspire others to action, build a business, or build more meaningful relationships, Rebel Talent will show you how to succeed — by breaking all the rules.

Curiosity

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