In a survey I conducted of more than 3,000 employees from a wide range of firms and industries, only about 24% reported feeling curious in their jobs on a regular basis, and about 70% said they face barriers to asking more questions at work. Third, although leaders might say they treasure inquisitive minds, in fact most stifle curiosity, fearing it will increase risk and inefficiency. This is true in every industry and for creative and routine work alike. Second, by making small changes to the design of their organizations and the ways they manage their employees, leaders can encourage curiosity-and improve their companies. In addition, curiosity allows leaders to gain more respect from their followers and inspires employees to develop more-trusting and more-collaborative relationships with colleagues. That’s because cultivating it at all levels helps leaders and their employees adapt to uncertain market conditions and external pressures: When our curiosity is triggered, we think more deeply and rationally about decisions and come up with more-creative solutions. First, curiosity is much more important to an enterprise’s performance than was previously thought. New research points to three important insights about curiosity as it relates to business. The impulse to seek new information and experiences and explore novel possibilities is a basic human attribute. Most of the breakthrough discoveries and remarkable inventions throughout history, from flints for starting a fire to self-driving cars, have something in common: They are the result of curiosity. Leaders should encourage curiosity in themselves and others by making small changes to the design of their organization and the ways they manage their employees. Curious people make better choices, improve their company’s performance, and help their company adapt to uncertain market conditions and external pressures. Why This MattersĬuriosity improves engagement and collaboration. Leaders say they value employees who question or explore things, but research shows that they largely suppress curiosity, out of fear that it will increase risk and undermine efficiency. The complete Spotlight package is available in a single reprint. Egon Zehnder’s Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, Andrew Roscoe, and Kentaro Aramaki describe the types of stretch assignments, job rotations, and other experiences needed to transform curiosity into competence. But that development is critical: Without it, a highly curious executive may score much lower on competence than less curious counterparts. The executive search firm Egon Zehnder has found that executives with extraordinary curiosity are usually able, with the right development, to advance to C-level roles. They explore which dimensions lead to the best outcomes and generate particular benefits in work and life. Goodman, along with linguist and educational scientist Carl Naughton, break it down into five distinct dimensions: deprivation sensitivity, joyous exploration, social curiosity, stress tolerance, and thrill seeking. Psychologists have come to realize that curiosity is not a monolithic trait. ![]() Doing so will help their organizations adapt to uncertain market conditions and external pressures and boost the business’s success. Leaders should hire for curiosity, model inquisitiveness, emphasize learning goals, let workers explore and broaden their interests, and have “Why?” “What if…?” and “How might we…?” days. Harvard Business School’s Francesca Gino elaborates on the benefits of and common barriers to curiosity in the workplace and offers five strategies for bolstering it. ![]() Although leaders might say they value inquisitive minds, in reality most stifle curiosity, fearing it will increase risk and inefficiency.
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