One of my clients is part of a world-leading organisation seeking to make significant changes to the way it does things. On a whiteboard in the office of the person leading the change is the word, "Fences". When I asked him why, he explained that he came into his role knowing that change would be necessary but also determined that he "...wouldn't take down any fences without first understanding why they were there." As a result of his disciplined curiosity, the organisation is already making significant, sustainable progress which keeps everyone on board.
This was a great reminder of the extraordinary value of curiosity. Indeed, while we mostly associate curiosity with risk and innovation, the word comes from the Latin for "care" and curiosity plays a key part in protecting us from making unwise decisions.
Curiosity also gives us a significant advantage over those who don't ask questions. We only have to think for a moment to acknowledge that, however good we are at what we
do, there's no way we can know everything about a person, situation or organisation. That right humility is often instrumental to unlocking tricky situations - relational or otherwise - at work.
The exhortation to "Be curious not judgmental" (often attributed to Walt Whitman) has been popularised by Coach Ted Lasso, the fictional football coach of (the also fictional) AFC Richmond. Curiosity makes us not just more compassionate but also more effective at work. "Be curious not judgmental" reminds us that curiosity frees us from the fundamental attribution error which so often causes us to judge the motives and characters of others on the flimsiest basis without enquiring further.
Curiosity is key to the professional clarity which I seek to help my clients achieve. According to my clients, their continued progress and success is partly enabled by me asking good questions and helping them to ask better ones. And so, as this year begins, a key professional resolution for me, and a hope for all my clients is, in the words of Alice in Wonderland, to become "curiouser and curiouser" at work. Here's to asking better questions in a spirit of humility and genuine discovery and to seeing greater professional outcomes as a result.
If you're keen to cultivate your curiosity this year, here are a couple of questions you could ask yourself: "Where/ of whom could I ask better questions at work this
year?" and "What impact might that have?"/ "Who could that help?".
One coaching tip as you seek to ask better questions - focus on "What?" and "How?" questions rather than constantly asking "Why?" (More on asking better questions in a future newsletter but, in the meantime, feel free to contact me to ask why "why" generally doesn't work as well.).
If you're more curious about the value of curiosity, Ian Leslie's aptly-named book, Curious is well worth a read. And here's the relevant clip* from Ted Lasso in which Ted quotes Whitman so winningly. (Warning: it's super folksy but also delightful!)
Next, a question for all of us as we move into a new year at work.
