“Be more childlike” is not exactly the advice you would expect to hear from a professional leadership consultant, right? But when it comes to curiosity, we could all learn something valuable from children. Children are masters of curiosity. They explore the world around them with intrigue and fascination. They allow their minds to explore and wonder, and they ask lots of great questions.

When it comes to leadership and organizational success, however, curiosity is far from childish; it is a highly valuable commodity. Consider these numbers:

• Nearly nine out of ten employees in organizations acknowledge that the most curious person is the one most likely to present the best ideas
• Curiosity leads to less stereotyping and a lower likelihood of falling prey to confirmation bias
• The most curious employees seek information and education from coworkers and leaders, helping them perform more effectively in their jobs
• Curiosity leads directly to innovation and more creative problem solving
• Greater curiosity leads to reduced conflict and more empathy
• Curious employees perform better because they are more open with the sharing of information, plus they listen more carefully
• But 60% of employees revealed that they have run into barriers preventing them from practicing curiosity
• The majority of employees believe that curious people are more likely to be promoted, but only 22% of employees describe themselves as curious
• Two out of three workers say that they have encountered barriers to asking more questions in the workplace
• Just 12% of employees say that their employers are “extremely encouraging” of curiosity

Unfortunately, the human sense of curiosity peaks around the age of four or five, and then goes on a steady decline throughout the average individual’s life. Curiosity is not seen as an essential quality for professional adults; in many cases it’s actively discouraged based on the statistics we have provided above.

The benefits of greater curiosity in the workplace are well established. So, how do leaders encourage this powerful quality among a workforce that has perhaps been conditioned to suppress their curiosity?‍

Leaders Need to See the Value of Curiosity

If you are a leader who does not see the value of curiosity, you are certainly not going to encourage it among your people. In fact, most leaders err on the side of reducing curiosity in the workplace. They believe that encouraging employees to be curious is a waste of time that leads to costly outcomes. They also tend to think of curiosity as something that will make managing people more difficult.

Leaders also tend to focus so much on efficiency that they see curiosity as an obstacle to peak performance. They believe that if employees are allowed to explore, question and innovate freely, the work won’t get done. But such a rigid commitment to efficiency actually kills innovation and ceases the flow of useful ideas.

Leaders need to get over these outdated ideas and face the facts about curiosity. They need to look at what today’s most innovative and successful companies are doing. And they need to be willing to take a leap of faith, trusting that increased curiosity will not be detrimental to efficiency or production. Sure, there may be some hiccups on the way to creating a more curious company. But if you want to lead a dynamic organization with real staying power, your investment in creating a more curious workforce will pay off in a big way.‍

Leading with Curiosity

Perhaps the best way to encourage greater curiosity within your organization is to demonstrate and model the quality yourself.

How inquisitive are you? Leaders are often great talkers. But they are not always skilled when it comes to asking questions and listening to the responses. As a leader, your instinct when faced with a challenge is probably to take action or provide solutions. That seems like textbook leadership, but it’s actually less effective than taking a moment to ask questions and learn more about the situation.

Leaders perhaps feel afraid to demonstrate curiosity because they feel it will make them appear indecisive or incompetent. But in reality, people appreciate and respect their leaders when they are inquisitive, even when facing challenges or urgent decisions.

Leaders also need to work on being okay with not having all the answers. They need to become more comfortable with the phrase, “I don’t know.” Yes, this is scary, and some would say it’s too vulnerable to be as a leader. But it shows members of the workforce that it’s okay to admit a lack of knowledge as long as you are curious enough to seek the answers. Pretending to know it all only serves to alienate your people and foster distrust.‍

How to Increase Curiosity in Your Organization

In order to improve your organization’s fortunes through an increased commitment to curiosity, it’s critical that you take the first steps in the process. Once you become comfortable with modeling curiosity in your leadership, you will notice your people asking more questions and becoming more comfortable with their own curiosity. At this point, it’s time to take the type of action that will create a culture of curiosity within your organization.

Here’s what you can do:

#1 — Form New Paths of Communication
When employees are exposed to new ideas and different ways of working, they become more curious and inquisitive. Therefore, it can be helpful to take down the walls (sometimes literally) that separate teams and departments. Leaders can remove the boundaries that keep people apart, which will encourage conversations among people who might not otherwise engage with each other.

#2 — Be Mindful of Your Reactions to Questions
How often have you responded to a question from an employee with an eye roll, sigh or a shrug? Have you used your body language to say, “That’s a dumb question” to a team member? Leaders sometimes discourage curiosity without even knowing it by displaying destructive body language or disrespecting an individual’s genuine inquisitiveness. Such behaviors only serve to stifle curiosity.

#3 — Don’t Be so Rigid about Process
Great leaders give their people guidelines that encourage creative solutions. Bad leaders stifle creativity and curiosity by insisting on rigid, letter-perfect adherence to processes. The process is not important. What’s important is the result, so only give your team members the constraints they need to stay on track, and then stand back so you can allow them to follow their curiosity. This is how innovative solutions are generated.

#4 — Forgive Failures
When you punish people too harshly for failures, you teach them that it’s not okay to color outside the lines. Certainly, you want to acknowledge failures and discuss the reasons why things go wrong. But when your first instinct is to punish, you kill curiosity. Instead, failures should be forgiven and used as teachable moments. Positive change and transformation come from failure, but only if you are forgiving enough to allow your people to keep trying to do better.

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Are You Fostering a Culture of Curiosity?

As adults, we have become conditioned to believe that curiosity is for kids. It’s time to get over that kind of thinking. Children learn, grow, develop, innovate and mature through their curiosity. Adults can do the same, but they must be allowed and encouraged to follow their natural inquisitiveness.

Are you worried that your workplace is stifling curiosity? Do you feel like your organization could use an injection of innovation? Real, positive change can happen, but it has to begin with you and your willingness to create a curious culture.

If you’re interested in learning more about the power of curiosity in the workplace, I am here for you! Let’s have a conversation — give me a call at 1-855-871-3374 or send me an email at joanne.trotta@leadersedgeinc.ca.

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