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Dr Rebel: A rebel with a curse ☢️ Today’s question: I see problems and opportunities from miles away, but no one ever listens. Help! Cassandra was a princess of Troy in Greek mythology, known for her beauty and wisdom. The god Apollo fell in love with her and offered her the gift of prophecy if […]

Dr Rebel: Too much focus on focus… the problem isn’t overthinking, it’s overdoing 📌 Today’s question: One of my team members procrastinates, often staring into space. How can I help him to get more focused? We live in a work world obsessed with being busy—setting goals, making to-do lists, and checking things off. We are

Dr Rebel: Disengagement is easy to fix, indifference is not Today’s question: Many rebels in our organisation have become disengaged, which worries me. What can we do? Rebels are known for their proactive attitude. They have a deep urge to improve things. Whenever they see a problem, they take ownership to solve it. For them,

Dr Rebel: Ooops … I did it again! Upsetting the boss, now what? Today’s question: I might have offended my boss. How can I make up? I believe today’s question is pretty recognisable for many rebels. At least it is for me, and probably during my corporate career, I have offended my bosses more often

Dr Rebel: Can we stop framing ‘Yes, but…’ negatively? Today’s question: My co-worker always says ‘Yes, but …’ and it drives me crazy. Please advise! The “yes, buts” can kill change and smother attempts at innovation. Well, that’s the general belief. And in some cases, it does. But it can also spur creative thinking. Let

Dr Rebel: Don’t judge too quickly; rebels have a different operating system Today’s question: The rebel in my team bypasses me, and it upsets me. How do you think I should handle this situation? Before I get to why people in your team bypass you and what you can do about it, I want to

dr rebel: 2024 … it’s a wrap 💫 this is it – we near the end of 2024 so it’s time for a reflection, an overview, and a gift (or two)! this was the first year of the ASK DR REBEL newsletter. below you can find the full overview of all 23 questions, categorised into three

dr rebel: don’t mistake rebelliousness for toxicity Today’s question: i don’t know how to interpret the rebel’s behaviour in my team. am i dealing with a toxic person? we often refer to a toxic colleague as someone who is always negative, critical, or just plain difficult to be around. there seems to be an overlap

dr rebel: stay calm in the heat of the moment Today’s question: when people are not open to what i have to say, i get super frustrated and become cynical. how can i manage my emotions better? becoming cynical works counterproductive; people don’t like negativity, so the more sarcastic you get, the more they’ll avoid

dr rebel: oh no! my boss is a rebel 🤯 Today’s question: my rebel boss changes his mind and comes up with new ideas all the time. how should i deal with this? creative and innovative bosses can be exciting, fun, and inspiring. they can also make you feel overwhelmed and frustrated when you can’t

dr rebel: don’t expect creativity when people are stuck in your bureaucracy swamp Today’s question: i wish my team would develop more new ideas. how can i help them to rebel a bit more? people don’t come up with new ideas for a variety of reasons. the assumption is it’s due to a lack of

dr rebel: getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable Today’s question: rebels dare to speak up without feeling uncomfortable. how do they manage? for the majority of people, speaking up in a group while everyone else remains silent is too scary. thus, most people decide not to. however, rebels seem to be pretty confident in sharing a

dr rebel: smarty-pants versus workplace fixer Today’s question: i want to improve how we work, but i keep my mouth shut because i feel people think i am a know-it-all. what should i do? know-it-alls in the workplace can be pretty annoying. they believe they have the answer to everything, are stubborn, unwilling to listen

dr rebel: how rebellious are you? Today’s question: is there a rebel in all of us? “is everyone a rebel?”, or put differently: “are you born a rebel?” is one of the most frequently asked questions i get. my first response is always to look at children. they all are rebels, no exceptions. they keep

dr rebel: learn to solve problems like a rebel Today’s question: rebels seem to fix stuff really well. how do they do that? many people in organisations are super busy and their agendas are fuller than ever. but if you reflect on how they spend their time, a great part goes to ‘firefighting’. fixing problems

dr rebel: five things you need to know about working with a rebel Today’s question: i have to collaborate with the rebel in our team, but it’s damn hard. how can we make it work? rebels can move mountains for you but you need to understand them a little to let that magic work. they

dr rebel: welcome unsolicited advice and you’ll have a win-win Today’s question: the rebel in my team keeps giving me unsolicited advice and it drives me nuts. please, help me! we all have been there. you are presenting your idea or solution, and then you are (again!) bombarded with suggestions about things you didn’t ask

dr rebel: create the right context and rebels will move mountains for you Today’s question: how can i empower rebels in my team? often, rebels are seen as troublemakers, and people tend to go around them. i have a slightly different view on rebels 😎 (read the ASK DR REBEL newsletter edition about what makes

dr rebel: stress is good for you as long as you take care of yourself Today’s question: all this opposition makes me feel stressed. what can i do to prevent myself from burning out? seeing things differently, asking many questions, and bursting with crazy ideas are not always welcomed with open arms. and thus, many

dr rebel: t doesn’t always have to be so darn serious Today’s question: how can we ease tension in the team? rebels are intrinsically motivated to make things better, and their urge to speak up is so much stronger than their will to fit in. they care so much that they are willing to face

dr rebel: you’ll only see it when you get it (johan cruijff) Today’s question: how do you recognise a ‘rebel-proof’ workplace? the original question i received was: “i am a rebel and orienting on a new workplace. which questions do i ask my new colleagues to check if this workplace is rebel-proof?” when you are

dr rebel: rebels have a bad rep, but without them, nothing would change Today’s question: what makes a rebel? when i share my perspective on rebellious behaviour, the most common response is people telling me they also identify as a rebel (or they now finally understand that their spouse is a rebel 😅). however, they

dr rebel: trouble maker versus trouble fixer Today’s question: the rebel in our team has become very cynical. how can we improve the situation? the word ‘rebel’ has a negative connotation. when you search for synonyms, you’ll find suggestions like disobedient, unmanageable, alienated, disaffected, fractious, recalcitrant, restless, turbulent, unruly, and warring. rebellious behaviour is often

dr rebel: rebels are often seen as difficult people, but in reality, they have the biggest hearts Today’s question: people find me difficult, but i just want to prevent the team from making mistakes. what can i do? from research by sarah bond and gillian shapiro, we learn that the number one reason that drains

dr rebel: the biggest misconception about rebels is that they are grumblers Today’s question: the rebels in our organisation complain a lot and are unmanageable. should we just fire them? in my almost 20 years of working in corporations, this probably was said about me too. and yes, it’s true that i was pretty critical