Although Curious George is fictional character, he is also a leader who has endured the test of time. He taught so many of our children and us important lessons about the value of exploration and persistence. He viewed his world with an open mind and a place to find truth and transparency. His innocence captivated all of our hearts as we travelled with him to crazy places. He welcomed us into his non-judgmental environment to engage with extraordinary and often a bit odd people. We loved it! We became exhilarated with his adventures. And we all followed him with glee. What made George a childhood friend and partner for adults alike? George had the gift of curiosity.
At its simplest, curiosity is “a strong desire to know or learn something”. It evokes a sense of wanting to understand more about the world around us. One thesaurus offered the synonym- “spirit of inquiry” for curiosity, which seems to capture the true action of exploring.
When leaders possess a gift of discovery, they have a natural tendency to want to delve deeper into why things and people are the way they are. What their eyes see and their ears hear, may not be what is really happening. In a sense, the leadership gift of curiosity transforms us into detectives. When we can get to the bottom of things and learn why team members or people connect or are behaving in a certain way, we gain great insights. Just like Curious George, leaders who go on the hunt can grow, become wiser and meet up with the most fascinating people. Here’s how:
DEVELOP AN EYE FOR INVESTIGATION
A curious leader looks at their world around them and is interested in understanding more clearly why actions are taking place and why people are displaying certain behaviors. Instead of just wondering why a team member is pushing so hard to promote their idea, ask. Find out the underlying facts and thoughts behind someone’s suggestion. Maybe they have a point. Maybe they see a perspective that is unfamiliar or just vastly different from where you sit.
[Tweet “Leaders leave no stone unturned when they are curious.”]
LEARN TO CONNECT THE DOTS
As children we are taught to establish connections between related pieces of information whether in math problems or solving mysteries. Leaders who work hard at discovering patterns and associations between disengaged people and their workload can oftentimes help others find a more meaningful way to approach a project or interaction. Working with this young leader, I helped him figure out a way to make room for all the urgent and unexpected requests he deals with daily. It took time but with my “outside” perspective and his “inside” knowledge we succeeded.
IGNORE DISTRACTIONS
Curious George was not put off when he couldn’t find who he was looking for immediately. He stayed the course until he located who or what he was pursuing. Leaders constantly deal with interruptions that can derail them if they allow it to happen. We need to be respectful when telling others that we can’t help them at a particular moment by saying that we would be happy to help them as soon as we are done with what we are doing. Not so easy sometimes but in the long run will model a culture that isn’t all about emergencies.
How have you welcomed the leadership gift of curiosity? How has being curious empowered you to be a stronger leader?
Terri, great post and great reminder of the power of curiosity and it’s importance to leadership. I always remind lovers and leaders that curiosity is the best cure for reactivity.
Hope your spring is going well!
Great point, Blair about the power of curiosity empowering us to understand others and their motivations and actions. When we delve deeper and ask meaningful questions, we will prevent ourselves from jumping to conclusions or making inaccurate judgements. Both of those could contribute to a derailment of our relationships.
I so appreciate your additions! Happy spring to you too!
What a sweet post! I could not help but smile thinking about Curious George.
Years ago when I was completing my coach training a mentor gave me the following advice: Consultants are paid to be smart and as a coach you should be dumb as a rock. All you need to do is to be really, really curious. Now, I’m not so sure about the dumb as a rock part but when we put aside what we think we know to get really curious as coaches and leaders it’s amazing what we can discover.
Thanks, Terri!
I think your mentor had a great point that by listening strategically and not interjecting guidance or suggestions, they were empowering you to discover your answers by yourself.That is one of the most challenging skills for many coaches as they want to “jump in” with solutions.
Curiosity involves making connections, looking for important clues and coming to the conclusions that reflect our core values. When leaders can pull all those pieces together they will accomplish great things while supporting others as well.
Thanks Alli for your great additions!
Terri,
In curiosity, we discover. In discovering, we learn. Being an effective leader requires us to ask questions, engage others, and always learn.
Appreciate your call to be curious!
Jon
I love your link with curiosity to discovery to learning. When we can cultivate a curious mindset, we can lead by exploring new possibilities. Curiosity actually empowers leaders to find more meaningful solutions as well as alternative approaches to challenging problems.
Thanks Jon for always being there and adding “great nuggets”!
Terri
Terri – Curious George is such a fun example! And I love how you highlighted the non-judgmental environment we were invited into. Thank you for making me smile!
I just invited Curious George to come and hang out with me! I’ll let you know what we discover together!
Thanks Chery for seeing the lighter side of leadership and one that also shares some lessons!
I hope your curious day of exploration leads you to great discoveries!
Great article, Terri.
Curiosity is near and dear to my heart because it’s an essential element of mental toughness. If we are not curious about ourselves, and the world around us, we stop learning.
And once we stop learning, we stop living the life we were meant to live.
A great and important topic…
I know this is a topic that you enjoy talking about LaRae and I always enjoy your perspectives on it as well.
I think that sometimes leaders aren’t sure how to embrace curiosity and don’t realize that it is a skill they can develop. By looking at people and events with a “pattern” mentality, it may be easier to explore. Also, by choosing to be curious, we can evolve into leaders with greater vision and depth.
Thanks LaRae!
I love this. I think many times people in positions of leadership are afraid to look like they don’t know all the answers so they stifle their natural curiousity and convince themselves they already know.
That’s such a great point that people really are uncomfortable about being honest when it comes to what skills or knowledge they are lacking. Instead of reaching out to the best talent for assistance, they try doing it all on their own.
When we are curious, we possess a thirst for learning new things and welcome the chance to grow with others. A curious mind empowers a leader to be more innovative and high performing.
Thanks Karin!