Where Does Your Curiosity Lead You?

Curiosity Builds Trust.

 

Have you noticed yourself being curious lately?

 

Perhaps you sensed something inside wasn’t quite right and you wondered why? Or it was something someone said to you and you thought, “what’s that about?”. Maybe you witnessed someone else’s behaviour and felt a little uneasy about it?

 

Your level of curiosity and whether it leads you to act says a lot about your style of engagement with the world and people around you. This article shares thinking about the importance of curiosity for leaders.

 

Responding to curiosity with action is not as easy as it seems. For example, as I walked out of a local supermarket last Sunday morning, I noticed a progression of male youth entering the supermarket. I remember thinking “that’s odd”, as I left the supermarket, heading to my car. But that’s where my curiosity ceased. No more than 15 seconds had passed when I looked back to see them racing out with stolen chocolate bars spilling out from their shallow designer pockets as they were pursued by staff. Sometimes curiosity works quicker than our readiness to act.  

 

The most effective curiosity produces not only an awareness about our environment,

but also a willingness to act upon its insights. In my article, ‘Don’t Waste Your Curiosity On Nice-To-Haves’ in my book Learning Dangerously, I stress the importance of using curiosity to foster valuable innovation and not just ‘nice-to-haves’. This is especially important in the workplace, otherwise, curiosity can end up being plain annoying, or at best, confusing.

 

However, curiosity is not just important for ‘out-of-the-box thinking’ in the workplace. I believe its greatest strength is how it can be used to build trust in organisations. In particular, I believe leaders of people must ensure they openly practise a healthy curiosity to maintain a positive focus on future opportunity.

 

It’s not surprising that research continues to support the importance of trust for an engaged and effective workforce. In the article, ‘The Neuroscience of Trust’, Paul Zak explains why trust is so critical for organisational success and how to manage it. And when you consider what is in the heart of a leader that is able to follow through on the 8 management behaviours – it is their curiosity – their willingness to ask ‘why?’ first. Not ‘what?’, ‘how?’, ‘when?’ or ‘who?’. But simply ‘why?’.

 

So what are the 3 steps you can apply to your workplace curiosity and make it most beneficial for your leadership and your people’s motivation and trust?

 

1. Keep your curiosity relevant – avoid the ‘nice-to-haves’.

2. Use your curiosity to foster innovation – new thinking and behaviour.

3. Share your curiosity with others – develop curiosity throughout your people.

 

As I say, “fostering a mindset of curiosity is one thing. Putting it to good use is another.”

 

What better use of curiosity could there be then building the trust of your people by simply asking the question, “why?”?

Craig Stephens is the author of Learning Dangerously. Craig mentors and coaches people to realise greater success. If you want to learn how to get you and your team curious, then contact Craig to realise the benefits that a curious workplace delivers.