Rebel Talent by Francesca Gino

Author:Francesca Gino
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062694645
Publisher: HarperCollins

IN JUNE 2014, THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS WON THEIR FIFTH NATIONAL BASKETBALL Association championship in sixteen seasons. The team was often described as “the United Nations of Hoops.” The oldest player, thirty-eight-year-old Tim Duncan, had been with the Spurs for about as long as his youngest teammate had been alive. Other players hailed from the Virgin Islands, France, Argentina, Canada, Italy, Brazil, and Australia. In fact, more than half the squad came from outside the United States, making the Spurs much more geographically diverse than the other teams in the league. They were also the first NBA team to have a female assistant coach, Becky Hammon.

The Spurs’ superb head coach, Gregg Popovich, and top-notch players were obviously key to the team’s success. But a diverse culture also played a role. Popovich, the son of a Serbian father and a Croatian mother, made it a point to learn about his players’ backgrounds and to try to speak to them in their native tongues. Players spoke English most of the time to ensure that no one felt left out, but occasionally the international players would switch things up, boosting both camaraderie and tactical advantage. Two French players, Tony Parker and Boris Diaw, turned to their native language when they needed to communicate quickly on the court. The two Australians on the team, Patty Mills and Aron Baynes, often spoke to each other in their own dialect. In teamwork, diversity encourages members—whether they’re in the majority or the minority—to search for new information and novel viewpoints, and to process that information more deeply and accurately, which leads to better decision making and problem solving.

Just being exposed to diversity changes the way we think. In a 2006 study, undergrads at the University of Illinois were assigned to work in three-person same-gender groups on a murder-mystery task in which sharing information was the key to success. Some of the groups had only white members; other groups had two white members and one nonwhite person (Asian, African-American, or Hispanic). Information was shared among all members of a group, but each was also given key clues to the mystery that only he or she had. To correctly identify the murderer, members had to share all the information they collectively had during their discussion. The diverse groups were more successful. Being with others who are similar, the results suggest, leads us to think that we all have the same information, which discourages engagement.

Differences in beliefs and personal preferences also bring benefits. In one study, 186 people who identified as either a Democrat or a Republican worked on the same murder mystery task I just told you about and decided who they thought committed the crime. Next, each person wrote an essay about their suspicion in preparation for a meeting with another group member. Participants were told that their partner disagreed with their opinion; their task was to change his or her mind. Half of the participants were told their partner supported the opposing political party, and half were told the person supported their own party.

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