Today is about being curious and asking questions.
If you have followed me in the past 9 weeks, this one should feel very straightforward. I keep talking about the importance of giving and asking feedback, asking questions. It’s almost a repeat.
When I talk about being curious though, I mean 2 things.
One is definitely about using questions to get deeper into a discussion, understand the perspective of the other person, check their feelings and emotions about a particular topic. This is done through asking a lot of“What” and“How” questions, and a few“Why” questions too.
Refer to my week 5“Communicate Effectively” or my week 7“Coach the Team” to get more insight about how curiosity can unleash powerful forces in how you empower people.
Curiosity to me is also about knowing who the masked guys in your team and your organization are. It might seem stating the obvious, but to lead people, you need to know the people.
Let me give you an example. Say you’re in a succession planning session with your boss, and they’re asking you if one person on your team is ready to move to another country to take on another job.
Knowing your people means you have been curious enough in the past to understand their willingness for such opportunities. It’s not about knowing everything about someone. It’s about asking the right questions, being curious enough, so that you can form an opinion of who on your team would be willing for such a change for instance.
Being curious means“peeling the onion”, layer after layer, by asking questions and getting to know what makes the people on your team tick, what their aspirations are, what fulfills them in life, etc.
And by the way, it is the same for your own manager. You must be curious about them.
If you are curious about how to know your manager better, sign up for my free 12-week authentic leadership challenge and I will walk you through the 12 areas of my model.
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Week 9 of my 12-week leadership challenge.