Curiosity Is the Secret to Unlocking Potential
“In the beginning…”
Many of you will recognize this phrase as the first words in the Bible.
As with any broad idea, there are multiple interpretations.
For those who dispute, ignore or reject the Bible, perhaps the title of this post is little more than a device for opening a story, such as “Once upon a time.”
For Jews, bǝrēʾšît in the Hebrew Bible translates as “In beginning” or “A beginning,” but not the absolute Beginning, with a capital B.
Still others believe it’s meant to be written and read as “When God began to create…”
Creating is a beautiful thing and creating is a big part of any leader’s job because leaders have the platform, the power and the opportunities to shape events. To create enterprise value. To create roles for rising stars. To create the future.
One trait in particular gives leaders an inside track in the race to create, build and win.
Curiosity.
Curiosity is a leadership skill and, like any skill, it can be learned and developed.
Ask More Questions
I was sitting in church on the last day of May when Rev. Dr. Joe Stobaugh anchored his message in the Book of Genesis, which starts with “In the beginning…”
I told Joe after the worship service that several things about his message struck me, including his point that Genesis was not written to answer scientific questions but rather to pose deep questions and invite us to think about our identity.
- What do we see when we look at ourselves?
- What do we see when we look at our relationships with others?
- What do we see when we look at our relationship with the world around us and what could be?
I told Joe he had inspired me to write this post. I mentioned that I planned to save it for later because I believe the period between Labor Day and Christmas is the time of year when leaders and their teams typically schedule meetings to view their organization from new perspectives in order to think about the future and create plans for how they intend to perform.
Planning is all about being curious and asking questions. The unexpected question. The tough question that everyone’s thinking but no one is talking about. The obvious question that everyone thinks has already been answered.
Questions prompt us to look at things with fresh eyes. And to discuss our responses with an open mind.
This image, for example, may offer a new perspective and change how you think about the future.
This image is of a view of the Earth we’re not accustomed to seeing: the Pacific Ocean.
- When you see this image, what feelings are stirred inside you?
- Do your plans for the future seem small?
- Does this image inspire you to think bigger? “Wow, an entire world in which to create.”
Planning is like a blank canvas awaiting new possibilities.
Your planning session should feel like a beginning.
Questions to Unlock Potential
Regular readers of this blog know that I’ve led more than 250 strategic planning sessions helping leadership teams sort through obstacles, opportunities and uncertainties to develop plans that invite them to engage in “possibility thinking,” manage what they can control and move forward with confidence.
I’ve written frequently about the planning process and today’s post includes links to three of my most popular blogs with questions related to planning plus two new questions designed to ignite curiosity and unlock potential.
Fifteen years ago, I examined the benefits of planning and that post remains one of the most downloaded resources from the hundreds of blogs I’ve written. Why Bother? 10 Benefits of Planning
Ten years ago, I posed 10 questions you and your team should be asking about your planning session and I updated that post last year.
Three years ago, I posed 7 Essential Questions Your Strategic Plan Must Address and this post included one of the most effective exercises I’ve developed for jump-starting a productive planning session.
I hope you’ll take advantage of these free resources.
Two Questions, a Reminder and an Invitation
Curiosity can be cultivated, and my book That’s A Great Question provides ideas, exercises and frameworks for developing organizational curiosity plus more than 2,000 questions, including twenty categories of questions.
I’ll close with two new questions, a reminder and an invitation.
Two questions – I recently posed two questions to a CEO who was meeting with his partners to discuss their plans for next year and beyond. He later told me the questions opened productive discussions with his partners. The following week I shared the same two questions in talks about accountability with groups of CEOs in Toronto. I said that accountability is most potent when viewed as an attraction and not as something to be feared. To achieve this mindset, it’s important to know what’s important to people. Here are the two questions that can help:
- What do you want to be celebrating a year from now?
- What are you willing to sacrifice in order to be celebrating?
Several leaders told me they intended to ask these two questions to their colleagues.
It’s not surprising and it’s fully acceptable when leaders on a team each have different things they want to celebrate. To bring disparate goals together, it’s also helpful to ask:
- Is our vision bold enough to excite everyone?
- Is it big enough to include everyone?
Your most important outcome emerging from your planning session is alignment.
A reminder – Most teams do a pretty good job of answering “head” questions. Those are “what” and “how” and “how much” questions. For example, a “head” question asks, “What’s our revenue objective for next year?” and “How will we achieve our multimillion-dollar objective?”
Discussions around these questions are absolutely necessary for your planning process.
For most people, however, those types of questions are well outside the way they think and outside their ability to affect such an outcome. They also provide little personal motivation.
Inspired by Joe Stobaugh’s message, I would remind leaders: As you and your team move through the process of thinking, reflecting and planning how you will create your future, remember to ask and answer questions that have the power to touch your colleagues’ hearts. Connect the objectives to things that matter to them.
For example, a “heart” question could reframe the company revenue question by asking, “What does achieving our multimillion-dollar objective mean for our people and our customers?” and “What does achieving that objective mean for you?”
Planning is more than a math problem or budgeting exercise: It’s about purpose and intentionality.
An invitation – If you’re curious about how our working together could unlock more of your potential, I’m finalizing my 4Q calendar and am happy to schedule a brief call. Contact me at greg.bustin@bustin.com.
Here’s wishing you and your team abundant curiosity as you begin the process of creating your future.