Do you consider yourself to be more of a conformist or a maverick? Have you considered trying to cultivate a rule-breaking mentality? Before you answer these questions, you might want to listen to “You 2.0: Rebel With A Cause.”
In this podcast, Shankar Vedantam explores this topic with Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino. Gino’s well-received book Rebel Talent: Why it Pays to Break the Rules in Work and in Life provides the foundation for their discussion.
Gino believes 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.”
It is an interesting premise, but to me many of the examples they discussed in the podcast seemed less like rebel acts, and more like examples of ways to improve teamwork, enhance creativity, solve problems or be a more compassionate human being – all important if one wants to be an effective leader.
Take Gino’s example of how a famous chef in Italy regularly unloads produce or sweeps the sidewalk in front of his Michelin-rated restaurant. He doesn’t let his title or position stop him from pitching into help. She asserts that this is a type of rule breaking, but couldn’t it simply be considered being a team player?
In another example, Gino discusses Captain Chesley Sullenberger’s miraculous landing of U.S. Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson. She discusses his ability, under extreme pressure, to consider his options, keep an open mind, and leverage his past experience to land the plane in the river. There is no doubt that Capt. Sully was calm, made smart decisions, and adopted an unconventional option when no other good choices existed, but he didn’t take these actions in defiance or resistance to established practices. He acted out of necessity, not rebellion.
The last example I’ll cite from the podcast is the story about rebel leaders and vulnerability. According to Gino, rebels aren’t afraid to make themselves vulnerable. To demonstrate this, she often shows her students a video of Maurice Cheeks, the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. The video captures the moment that Cheeks steps into help a 13-year-old girl who has lost her way when singing the National Anthem. He goes to the microphone and sings along with her, in spite of his lack of vocal skills. I will admit I found it emotionally moving and inspiring, but was it truly a rebel act? Shouldn’t we all step up an extend help to another person who is struggling?
Clearly, to be an effective leader one needs to cultivate skills around doing what needs to be done, fostering creativity, being curious, remaining humble and open to learning, considering all the options, being authentic, and a willingness to be vulnerable – but those don’t automatically a rebel make.