Have you ever had a boss or colleague squelch your curiosity?
I don’t mean being told to “mind your own business” when you were prying for gossipy office-drama details you didn’t need to know.
I’m talking about having your curiosity shut down by a lack of enthusiastic support when you were trying to improve a process, solve a stubborn problem, or simply understand your job better.
Bringing a healthy curiosity to work has become a trendy new trait we look for on our teams. Data from the Harvard Business Review recently suggested that, “curiosity helps employees engage more deeply in their work, generate new ideas, and share those ideas with others.”
Yet most of us “curious” ones know the soul-destroying effects of being shut down far too well.
Why?
According to research, 83% of C-level or president-level executives believe they encourage curiosity at their companies -- but they’re mistaken!
Only 52% of their employees agree with them.
In fact, a staggering 81% of the surveyed employees believe that curiosity makes no difference in their compensation. They don’t see their leaders valuing curiosity in any material way.
What about your team?
Do they feel empowered to be curious or do you just think they do? Are you sure?
If not, here’s what you can do.
Understand that your behaviors and those of your senior-most leadership team are ultimately responsible for encouraging or suppressing the curiosity of your team at work.
For example, if you or your execs respond to curious ideas with excessive Criticality, your team members will conclude that any future ideas will also be met with a “here’s why that won’t work” response and choose not to share them.
If change-proposals are met with a low Deference response, your team members will conclude that there is no openness to changes that didn’t originate with “the boss.” And the proposals will stop coming.
And if team members don’t receive an appropriate amount of Nurturing behavior (such as appreciation and encouragement) from team leaders, they won’t feel valued or safe enough to be curious.
To make sure that you’re demonstrating the kind of leadership behaviors that encourage and reward curiosity, you need behavioral data.
At Teamalytics, we use behavioral analytics and coaching to help your team eliminate counterproductive behaviors so you can hit your goals, have fun, and earn more.
Over the last 25+ years, Teamalytics has collected and analyzed behavioral data from more than 500,000 people in many of the largest and most respected organizations in the world.
Our executive coaches are successful, senior-level leaders with first-hand experience leading their own teams through our data-driven processes in the context of military units, champion sports teams, and Fortune 500 companies.
Are you ready to win the war by creating a high-development culture? Contact us!
3 ways we can help you overcome the obstacles holding your team back:
1. Learn how the Fortune 500 (e.g. LinkedIn, McKesson, Procter & Gamble) are using our behavioral analytics and coaching to optimize their teams for competition-busting results HERE.
2. Download our report “Solving the 5 Pervasive Team Challenges” and experience the power of our Teamalytics 360 Report for yourself or a team member at no charge HERE.
3. Grab a free Consultation to discuss the challenges on your team and how to leverage the power of behavioral analytics to solve them HERE.
