February
24
,
2024
Understanding Our Multitudes Part 1
Lessons From Reb Rebelle
IPPA 2025
,
Leadership & Management
,
Meaningful Work
,
In this episode of Meaningful Work Matters, host Andrew Soren chats with Reb Rebele, a psychological scientist, author, teacher, and advisor. Rebele teaches MBA students in Melbourne, Australia and brings over a decade of experience researching positive psychology and organizational behavior at the University of Pennsylvania. Rebele dedicates their career to helping individuals, teams, and organizations improve well-being, enhance creativity and collaboration, and achieve their goals.
In Part One, Soren and Rebele explore the dynamic nature of personality and how understanding our different personality states can help us navigate the complexities of meaningful work. Rebele challenges common assumptions about authenticity and examines ways to intentionally adjust our personality expression to achieve our goals while maintaining sincerity in our work lives.
Breaking Down the Personality Box
As Rebele declares, "nobody really wants to be just one kind of person." Their research highlights how we all possess core personality traits that persist over time, yet contain multitudes of possible ways of being.
This insight challenges the traditional view of personality as fixed and unchangeable.
The data tells us that even the most introverted person experiences moments of high extroversion, and vice versa. These fluctuations stem not just from our situations, but from our goals and motivations in the moment.
When we want to connect with others, we act more extroverted.
When we pursue productivity or achievement, different aspects of our personality emerge.
The Authenticity Paradox
Rebele's work also challenges conventional wisdom about authenticity.
Rather than equating authenticity with behavioral consistency, Rebele’s research suggests that truly authentic people express different sides of themselves based on their goals and context.
Authenticity can become a restrictive box - one we place ourselves in and others place us in. When we demand constant authenticity while assuming someone embodies just one personality type, we limit their freedom to express their full range of experiences and interactions.
Managing Your Multiple Selves at Work
Understanding personality dynamics offers practical strategies for those seeking meaningful work. Rebele emphasizes how tasks that require us to act against our natural dispositions drain additional energy and resources.
Success lies not in avoiding these situations, but in managing them strategically.
Rebele goes on to share an example. "I exercise before teaching, think about my caffeine intake, and ensure I get enough rest. Without these preparations, I tend toward neurotic and withdrawn behavior." These are the kinds of deliberate efforts most of us practice to bring out the right versions of ourselves at the right time.
The Power of Restorative Niches
Personality psychologist Brian Little's concept of "restorative niches" plays a crucial role in managing our different personality states. Rebele recommends developing a recovery menu for various time frames:
Two minutes: Deep breathing, window gazing, or quick movement
Two hours: Extended breaks for deeper recovery
Two days: Weekend restoration
Two weeks: Complete vacation disconnection
This systematic approach to recovery helps professionals sustain their energy and authenticity while meeting their work's varying demands.
The Leadership Challenge
Middle managers face particularly high burnout rates because they must constantly switch between different work modes - from one-on-one support to strategic thinking to group facilitation. Yet organizations rarely provide tools to manage these transitions effectively.
Rebele recommends practical approaches like designating "maker days" and "manager days" to group tasks requiring different personality states.
Success depends on recognizing how different tasks demand different versions of ourselves and creating supportive conditions for those transitions.
Looking Ahead
By embracing our multiple selves and understanding the conditions that bring out different aspects of our personality, we gain greater agency in our professional lives. We can move beyond simplistic notions of authenticity toward a more nuanced understanding of how to show up as our best selves in different contexts.
Part 2 will explore collaboration's dark sides, generosity's pitfalls, and strategies for avoiding burnout while making a difference.