How curious do you dare to be?

Curiosity may well be one of the traits that takes you the furthest, both in your personal life and in the organization where you work. By being curious about people and delving into the perspective and style of others, you better understand what drives them, what they bring to the table, and what they can contribute. This creates space to break through existing blockades, impasses, and frustrating patterns together and try out groundbreaking innovative ideas. And that can lead to wonderful outcomes.

I hear you thinking: easier said than done. And that's true! Because to show your curiosity, you must truly dare to cross over to the other person. This means recognizing, understanding, and overcoming your own discomfort.

For example, starting a conversation can be quite difficult. You may differ from the other person in terms of background, personal, practical, or business perspective, generation, and so on. Especially in the often practice-oriented and process-driven manufacturing industry, it’s a challenge to step away from content and continue to engage with each other as people. Moreover, approaching a conversation with an unprejudiced, open, and curious attitude can also be confronting for yourself. It may require you to reconsider and, if necessary, adjust your own perspectives, ideas, and behavior.

Dare to take it on fully and open yourself up. Take on the challenge of questioning each other freely. Put on the other person’s glasses and also look at yourself. You'll get a lot in return. With mutual curiosity, you’ll truly begin to see, sense, and appreciate each other. It clears the way to show both your vulnerability and your talents, and to move toward one another, even if you differ greatly from each other.

This can create space and new energy in the collaboration and team spirit, leading to surprising successes. And not least, it can enrich you personally. Recently, I saw the text on my daughter's T-shirt: creatives are the new athletes. In this context, I would translate that to: curious people who creatively explore, connect, and discover are the real athletes in organizations and life.

Speaking of athletes, during the last Olympic Games, a top coach mentioned that athletes' top performances also stem from their boundless curiosity. At a certain point, they are already very good in terms of technical and physical skills. The (golden) top achievements are reached by also seeking each other out mentally. Through pure curiosity and openness, they bring out the best in each other. Even that success is based on the healthy confrontation between people.

But the opposite is also true: you can also bring out the worst in each other. By not listening to one another, by talking about rather than with each other, by judging, labeling, thinking in boxes, and stubbornly clinging to your own feelings, ideas, and ways of thinking.

Should you completely sideline yourself then? No, absolutely not. Curiosity is a wonderful trait to approach the other person with an open mind. But it’s mostly about finding the balance between giving space to the other person and retaining space for yourself. That involves trial and error, daring to experiment time and again.

I experience this repeatedly as a development partner. I continue to open myself to learning and progressing in co-creation with the client and my colleagues. How is that for you? What experiences do you have when it comes to approaching others with curiosity and an open mind and looking at yourself through their lens? I’m very curious!

Arianne van Tongeren

Ontwikkelingspartners