The art of being inquisitive

Being inquisitive about the world has got me to where I am so far in my career. As a Product Manager, part of my role is to both continuously question our reasons as a business for building something, and also research and enquire about our users’ behaviour and motivations.

When you’re starting out in your career you should make an effort to be inquisitive about other people and their work. When someone talks about their job probe them a little to understand what exactly it is they do, what they enjoy about their job and what interesting experiences they've had. By demonstrating your interest and enquiring about people’s daily working lives you’ll not only build up your own understanding of what opportunities might be available to you in your career, but it will also help you to start building a network of people who you might be able to call on to answer questions and give you advice in the future.

But the art of being inquisitive goes beyond just simply asking questions of others. It’s about exploring the world around you, building on your level of understanding and being curious about why things are the way they are.

By adopting an inquisitive outlook you’ll quickly build up knowledge and skills that will help you to progress.

Perhaps you sometimes gloss over a news story because you don’t understand the details of the affair. When you come across something you don’t understand in the news it is a great opportunity to expand your knowledge. Rather than skipping over the story Google it or use Wikipedia to delve into the topic and learn something new.

Or perhaps you have items that you use in your daily life that you have no idea how they actually work or are built. The majority of people have little understanding of how their computer or smartphone actually functions, and yet it is something that you use every day. Be inquisitive about the tools and systems you use and read up on how they work, or get under the hood yourself and build or adapt your own systems through learning how to code for instance.

Aside from these practical examples of how being inquisitive can enable you to gain more knowledge and skills to support your career, being inquisitive about the world you live in and share with others will make you a more rounded, empathetic and measured person. And once you’ve mastered the skill of analysing, probing and question things you’ll find that you will gain confidence to accept opportunities and challenges that will enrich your future.