When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college – that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, ‘You mean they forget?’ (Howard Ikemoto)
Most of us have come across the caricature of the child that is constantly asking why, and that through adult eyes this quickly becomes irritating. I think this suggests a couple of interesting things about curiosity. Firstly, that as adults we should have grown out of this phase and if we haven’t it’s better to keep it to ourselves. Secondly, it implies that curiosity is something that is to a certain degree innate and can be nurtured as we develop.
As I said in my last post, I think opening up to curiosity is one tool in our toolbox that could prove really valuable at the moment. How do we help ourselves; our colleagues, teams and collaborators express and share their curiosity?
- Think about what gets rewarded. Acknowledging effort as much as results can be an important factor. I know many students that have felt disgruntled when they are just graded on their final outcome rather than the effort they have put in, what they see as evidence of their learning. That doesn’t mean we reward poor results. It does mean that we recognise a balance. If you are constantly told you are good at something what does that do for your curiosity? Are you likely to explore new ideas in relation to whatever it is, or do you stick with what works?
- Consider how well you understand and can identify what impacts on curiosity. Do your job descriptions, personal development processes or strategies embrace curiosity? Maybe it is one of your values as a group or organisation, and if so, how do you know whether it is happening?
- Being open to not knowing: You might want to explore as a group how safe or comfortable it is in your group or organisation to not know something.
- Modelling inquisitiveness: demonstrate your curiosity, find others that do it well too. Ask questions, listen well, and share ideas and inspiration. It’s one of the principles behind our Friday Selection boxes.
- Recruit for curiosity: this includes team or project members, partners, and collaborators. This will help you identify the characteristics you are looking for and supports modelling.
Think about the 4 Cs of curiosity:
- Courage: sometimes it’s not easy to ask why, or what if, or how. Not everyone will have the courage to speak up so different mechanisms for expressing curiosity can be helpful
- Consistency: curiosity should be available to all not just a select few because of their role or status. It should be acceptable wherever it emerges and rewarded accordingly
- Commitment: I often see great ideas pop up only to fall by the wayside after a while. If you’re serious about curious working you need to stick with it for a period of time
- Crossing boundaries: curiosity doesn’t sit in nice, neat boxes, support your people and yourself to broaden your interests. Become a polymath!
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. (Albert Einstein)