Elevate Your Leadership Game by Being Curious

Joe Weinlick
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Leaders have several methods at their disposal to build effective teams, and developing curiosity among colleagues is one key way to build rapport, get results, and learn how the dynamic of a team gets the job done. Elevate your leadership by displaying not only your own curiosity but bringing out the curiosity of others.

Define Curiosity

Curiosity is a person's desire to learn and know things. Developing curiosity in a contemporary workplace fosters more than just a desire to learn; it strengthens relationships, allows people to gain valuable insights, enhances collaboration and spurs innovation. The bottom line is that curiosity is vital to your success and the success of your company.

Ask Questions

Learning new things starts with asking questions and seeking answers, almost as if you're Socrates or Sherlock Holmes trying to get to the heart of the matter. Ask open-ended questions to everyone at the office while developing curiosity. The scope of your questions depends on the role of your colleagues.

To your supervisor, ask "What steps do I need to take to become an effective leader in this office?" Your manager might have some insights because he has been there longer than you.

To the company's stakeholders, post questions such as "How do you define success with this project?" or "What has been your experience with leadership at this company so far?" The answers let you know the expectations of your leadership with important people.

To your colleagues and equals, "What valuable lessons did you learn as you gained experience in a leadership role?" and "What advice can you give me?" Your colleagues can serve as informal mentors along your own leadership journey.

To your teammates, ask "What are some of the most difficult obstacles you're trying to overcome?" and "What can I do to help make your work more efficient?" These questions foster rapport and start developing curiosity among your teammates. They let your co-workers know it's okay for them to ask questions too.

Discover How to Make an Impact

As many as 70 percent of millennials are motivated by curiosity and personal interest when it comes to choosing a career. This factor is even more important than money and compensation. Developing curiosity lets you tap into a person's inherent need to expand his knowledge base. As you get feedback from others, ask yourself what you can do to improve everyone around you. Reflect on the steps you take to enhance your office's culture to ascertain your priorities, figure out what aspects you need to put more effort into and what must happen for you to continue to grow as a leader.

Take Actions

Taking action is how you see results. When you receive answers from the questions you asked, you get an idea of what steps you must take to change the office for the better. Improve your team's ability to work together, hold your teammates and yourself accountable, build alliances as much as possible, and build impactful relationships with everyone around you. Taking action lets you grow because you may have to push yourself outside of your comfort zone to get things done.

Developing curiosity is a continuous process. Once you take action, you start the process over again by asking more questions to elevate your leadership even further.


Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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