Curiosity: Why Now?
I love the commercial where the small child in the back seat and asks their dad, “Do fish get thirsty?” which of course, causes an eye roll. Anyone who has spent time with kids knows that this was the millionth question of the day.
Kids don’t need any encouragement to ask questions, but adults do. Organizations are discovering that encouraging curiosity at work can have an incredibly positive impact on their workplace. Suddenly, there is a resurgence of soft skills in employee development programs around the world, and curiosity is near the top of the list.
A recent Harvard Business Review had an article by Frances Gino from the Harvard Business School that said, “When we’re curious, we view tough situations more creatively.” And when have we been in more difficult situations than we are today?
A few years ago, our book club read A Curious Mind, The Secret to a Bigger Life, by Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman. Brian is the producer of A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Splash, Arrested Development, 24, 8 Mile, Empire, J. Edgar Hoover and more. It’s a story of how Brian has used what he calls “curious conversations” with famous and not so famous people. It’s a great book, and I highly recommend it.
It's obvious that curiosity at work leads to innovation, but we’re also finding that being curious can improve employee engagement and collaboration. It can fortify resilience by promoting creative problem solving in times of uncertainty.
Simply put, curiosity in the workplace can boost productivity.
Why don’t leaders put more emphasis on encouraging curiosity at work? Well, hard to believe but some managers are threatened by their employees asking questions. Apparently, they are concerned they won’t know the answer, or the answer might even create more work for them. How sad is that?
What can we do to encourage curiosity? Just that—encourage your staff members to ask you and other employees questions. Ask questions yourself. Consider holding curious conversations with people you meet or people you work with. Add some soft skills development topics to your professional development program. Have fun with questions and see what the impact is on your organization.
We’d love to hear from you about your stories of how curiosity worked for you and good luck.