Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Competitive Edge of the Curious


I believe curiosity is among the four cornerstones that drive effective organizations and strong leaders. Mike Myatt does a nice job of pushing reflection along those lines in one of his blog posts. I was particularly taken by his point about the value of genuine curiosity for encouraging curiosity in others. He writes:
"If your ego is messaging you have all the answers, and that your way is the only way, then why would anyone ever be inspired to pursue change and innovation? A leader who doesn’t encourage others to challenge their thinking isn’t a leader – they’re a dictator. Dictators suppress individual thought and new ideas, while leaders encourage it at all costs."
For the next few days, while you serve your organization, observe yourself and reflect upon your actions. Are you inquiring out of curiosity or control? Do you put aside your ego without apologizing and encourage the risk of new thinking among those around you? If not, what do you need in order to start doing it? If so, what do you need to keep it up?
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