Page 2 - Harvard Business Review, Sep/Oct 2018

EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2018
SPOTLIGHT
CURIOSITY
New research shows
that curiosity is vital
to an organization’s
performance—as are the
particular ways in which
people are curious and
the experiences they
are exposed to. This
package examines how
leaders can nurture
curiosity throughout their
organizations and ensure
that it translates to success.
page 47
THE COMPLETE SPOTLIGHT PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE
IN A SINGLE REPRINT. HBR Reprint R1805B
152 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2018
The Business
Case for FRANCESCA
GINO
Professor, Harvard
Business School
Curiosity
ost of the breakthrough
M self-driving cars, have something deeply and rationally about decisions and range of firms and industries, only about
come up with more-creative solutions. In
discoveries and remarkable
24% reported feeling curious in their jobs on
addition, curiosity allows leaders to gain
a regular basis, and about 70% said they face
inventions throughout history,
more respect from their followers and
from flints for starting a fire to
barriers to asking more questions at work.
In this article I’ll elaborate on the
inspires employees to develop more-
benefits of and common barriers to
in common: They are the result of curiosity.
trusting and more-collaborative relation-
The impulse to seek new information and ships with colleagues. curiosity in the workplace and then offer
five strategies that can help leaders get
experiences and explore novel possibilities
Second, by making small changes to the
is a basic human attri bute. New research
design of their organizations and the ways
high returns on investments in employees’
they manage their employees, leaders can
curiosity and in their own.
points to three important insights about
encourage curiosity—and improve their
curiosity as it relates to business. First,
curiosity is much more important to
companies. This is true in every industry
an enterprise’s performance than was and for creative and routine work alike. THE BENEFITS OF CURIOSITY
New research reveals a wide range of
previously thought. That’s because cul-
Third, although leaders might say they
tivating it at all levels helps leaders and
benefits for organizations, leaders, and
treasure inquisitive minds, in fact most
employees.
stifle curiosity, fearing it will increase risk
their employees adapt to uncertain market
conditions and external pressures: When
Fewer decision-making errors.
and inefficiency. In a survey I conducted
of more than 3,000 employees from a wide
In my research I found that when our
our curiosity is triggered, we think more
48 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2018 SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2018 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW 49
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR CURIOSITY
Although leaders might say they value inquisitive minds, in reality most stifle
curiosity, fearing it will increase risk and inefficiency. Harvard Business School’s
Francesca Gino elaborates on the benefits of and common barriers to curiosity
in the workplace and offers five strategies for bolstering it. Leaders should
hire for curiosity, model inquisitiveness, emphasize learning goals, let workers
explore and broaden their interests, and have “Why?” “What if...?” and “How
might we...?” days. Doing so will help their organizations adapt to uncertain
market conditions and external pressures and boost the business’s success.
THE FIVE DIMENSIONS OF CURIOSITY
Psychologists have come to realize that curiosity is not a monolithic trait. George
Mason University’s Todd B. Kashdan, David J. Disabato, and Fallon R. Goodman, along
with linguist and educational scientist Carl Naughton, break it down into five distinct
dimensions: deprivation sensitivity, joyous exploration, social curiosity, stress tolerance,
and thrill seeking. They explore which dimensions lead to the best outcomes and
generate particular benefits in work and life.
FROM CURIOUS TO COMPETENT
The executive search firm Egon Zehnder has found that executives with extraordinary
curiosity are usually able, with the right development, to advance to C-level roles. But
that development is critical: Without it, a highly curious executive may score much lower
on competence than less curious counterparts. Egon Zehnder’s Claudio Fernández-Aráoz,
Andrew Roscoe, and Kentaro Aramaki describe the types of stretch assignments, job
rotations, and other experiences needed to transform curiosity into competence.