Cultivating Curiosity: an indispensable trait for change

By Silvia Calleja (2023)

Image: Shutterstock

Abstract

Organizations are in constant search of ways to improve their ability to create and innovate. Curiosity plays an important role as a necessary condition to trigger change and learning. This article looks at a trait that is often associated with children but gets lost as people grow up. We propose ways to put it back under the spotlight.

Play, discover, learn

Curiosity is a trait that accompanies us throughout our lives. According to early studies (Hall and Smith, 1903) in this field, children start reacting with curiosity to their environment just 2 weeks after birth. The attraction to novel stimuli is an intrinsic part of human nature and mankind´s progress would not have been possible without it. Curiosity fulfills two important functions: “obtaining access to information-bearing stimulation, capable of dispelling uncertainties of the moment, but also acquiring knowledge” (Berlyne, 1954).

Let´s take a closer look at Berlyne´s definition. We come to the world equipped with a drive to search for information that will help us understand our environment, make sense of it and apply this knowledge for further learning and development (Kidd and Hayden, 2015). At some point, we were all children who could spend hours watching a beetle in a box asking our slightly annoyed parents a thousand “why” questions about it. Through play and exploration, we started to understand the world around us. At this stage, we were not afraid to get dirty or take risks (more than one of us has still the scars to prove it). We experienced the world through our senses and started connecting the dots to learn from these interactions.

If according to Kang et. al (2009) curiosity facilitates and enhances learning, then we can assume that at least to some extent, the choices we consider when making a decision, are determined by the experience we have acquired and our ability to reframe it.

No Sensemaking without curiosity

Sensemaking is approaching disruption, ambiguity and unpredictable situations with curiosity, looking for answers to two questions (Weick et al., 2005 p.410), “what´s the story here?” to organize a stream of experiences and “now what should I do?” to provide guidelines for future action, as well as meaning for the choices made. Sensemaking occurs with the aim of restoring order in chaos and clarity in a scenario of uncertainty.

However, sensemaking is not a process with a beginning and an end. Instead, it is a continuum, where curiosity keeps being indispensable to move individuals to action. Actions enable experiences, which trigger conversations and more sensemaking, which in time can lead to new beliefs (Weick et al., 2005). Sensemaking “is about continued redrafting of an emerging story so that it becomes more comprehensive, incorporates more of the observed data, and is more resilient in the face of criticism” (Weick et al., 2005 p.415).

Curiosity and Change

Organizations are often embedded in an environment whose reality and circumstances differ significantly from those originally expected. It is then that the need to make sense of these discrepancies becomes evident if the organization is to be better equipped to face the uncertain future. Sensemaking (Taylor and Van Every, 2000 p.40) becomes a “springboard to action” by articulating the images, circumstances, and situations being observed, then interpreting them to identify an action course.

As Weick and colleagues (2005) propose that sensemaking assumes “ignorance and knowledge coexist” (p.412), in the sense that we learn through an iteration where we interpret circumstances using familiar frames of reference, yet question those same frameworks to generate new knowledge, interpretations and frameworks. This is why this cognitive process cannot be understood without considering the role played by curiosity in acquiring experiences that bridge the gap between ignorance and knowledge.

Sensemaking provides a mechanism to reframe mistakes (Paget, 1988). With the wisdom of hindsight, actions that did not produce the desired result can be reassessed and reframed as “lessons learned” to catapult the organization into the future.

Keeping your organization curious

We have established that curiosity is an indispensable trait to fuel change and encourage new ways of thinking. However, we must not forget that for individuals and organizations, change implies that the expectation of continuity is breached, creating a state of stress and arousal.

Thus, the question that comes to mind is which conditions need to be considered to foster curiosity within the organization to be better equipped for an ever-changing environment.

Without intending to provide a comprehensive and exhaustive overview, and based on my experience working with organizations dealing with change, I would like to suggest three guidelines: create a learning environment, question your mental models frequently and encourage fun.

Let´s take a closer look at these three conditions.

Create a learning environment

Cannon and Edmondson (2005) argue that by creating a culture of “shooting the messenger”, organizations fail to foster an environment that supports learning from failure. If we look at the way we learn from that at an early age to how our school system shifts the focus by penalizing “not knowing the answer” with a bad grade. After years of formal schooling, it is easy to understand why individuals are afraid of making mistakes because they fear losing face in front of their coworkers. Further, we train students that there is one “right” answer when the questions they will face as adults often have no perfect answer, but many “good enough” answers, each one with a deficit that will need addressing.

In order to overcome inhibitions to recognize mistakes, Cannon and Edmonson (2005) propose creating an organization where psychological safety is guaranteed. Edmonson (1999) describes team psychological safety as “the shared belief that the team is safe to take interpersonal risks” (p. 354). Social cognitive neuroscience (Fabritius and Hagemann, 2018) is pointing to the advantage of learning in groups: through this social interaction, individuals release oxytocin, a hormone that enhances neuroplasticity (the ability of our brain to create new neuronal pathways to learn new things and unlearn those which no longer serve us, thus facilitating change).

Question your mental models frequently

As we mentioned before, curiosity moves us to seek out new information and make sense of it. But connecting the dots can only take place if we are willing to see the world with the eyes of a child, ready to be surprised by whatever it is that we discover. As proposed by Eric Berne´s Transactional Analysis, curiosity takes place when we operate from our free Child ego state, where we are “creative, spontaneous and playful” (Murray, 2021). Moreover, curiosity means having the self-awareness to be able to reframe our experiences to make new sense of them.

In terms of reframing failure within the organization, Cannon and Edmonson (2005) suggest “holding people accountable, not for avoiding failure, but for failing intelligently, and for how much they learn from their failures” (p. 18).

Encourage fun

Brackett (2019) provides a framework to classify emotions based on pleasantness and energy. According to the framework, when we experience emotions that are high on energy and high on pleasantness, such as feeling playful, joyful, and thrilled, we put ourselves in a better position to be creative. Neuroscience also supports the fact that creative insights take place when individuals are happy and laughing (Fabritius and Hagemann, 2018).

But having fun might not be enough if the organization does not provide a space for experimentation. As Cannon and Edmondson (2005) argue, if an organization learns by reframing mistakes, then deliberate experimentation is a necessary condition for learning. “By devoting some portion of their energy to trying new things, to find out what might work and what will not, firms certainly run the risk of increasing the frequency of failure. But they also open up the possibility of generating novel solutions to problems and new ideas for products, services, and innovations” (p.309).

Conclusions

Curiosity constitutes a starting point for creativity and innovation. It is the drive that makes us experience our surroundings and translate such experience into actionable change. Curiosity is not limited to an individual trait, but organizations can make a conscious decision to integrate curiosity as part of their identity. This will allow them to be better prepared to adapt and react to a volatile and uncertain business environment.

Jumpstarting Curiosity

To unleash curiosity within your organization, we suggest initiating a dialogue about possibilities. These are some simple yet powerful questions to use as conversation starters:

What is possible here?

Is there better way to do this?

What if…?

What is your organization or team doing to foster curiosity? We invite you to share your thoughts with us!

Special thanks to Dr. Reg Butterfield and Dr. Ross Wirth for unlocking my curiosity to write this article and contributing with thought-provoking paths to explore.

About the Author

Silvia Calleja has a bachelor´s degree in Business & Finance from Universidad Panamericana and a Master’s in Neuro-communication from Universidad Católica de Murcia. After working for over a decade in Supply Chain Management, she has been a Career & Leadership Coach for the last 6 years. Currently, she supports Higher Education institutions and entrepreneurs to develop collaborative and resilient individuals and organizations.

References:

Berlyne, D.E. 1954. A theory of human curiosity. Br. J. Psychol. 45, 180–191.

Brackett, M. 2019. Permission to feel. Celadon Books, New York.

Cannon, M., A. Edmondson. 2005. Failing to Learn and Learning to Fail (Intelligently): How Great Organizations Put Failure. Long Range Planning 38, 299–319.

Cooke, B. 2022. Transactional Analysis and Ego States. Available at: https://mcpt.co.uk/transactional-analysis-and-ego-states (Accessed: 22.11.2022).

Fabritius, F., H.W. Hagemann. 2018. The Leading Brain. Neuroscience hacks to work smarter, better, happier. TarcherPerigree, New York.

Kang, M.J., Hsu, M., Krajbich, I.M., Loewenstein, G., McClure, S.M., Wang, J.T.Y., and Camerer, C.F. 2009. The wick in the candle of learning: epistemic curiosity activates reward circuitry and enhances memory. Psychol. Sci. 20, 963–973.

Kidd, C., B. Hayden. 2015. The Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity. Neuron 88, 449–460.

Murray, H. 2021. Transactional Analysis — Eric Berne. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/transactional-analysis-eric-berne.htm (Accessed: 22.11.2022).

Paget, M.A. 1988. The Unity of Mistakes. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA.

Taylor, J.R., E.J. Van Every. 2000. The Emergent Organization: Communication at Its Site and Surface. Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ.

Weik, K., K. Sutcliffe. 2005. Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking. Organ. Sci. 16(4), 409–421.