CURIOSITY: 21st Century Differentiator

Could it be the notion of competitive advantage is changing? Yes! There are clear signs that the "dog-eat-dog" mentality and "guerrilla marketing techniques" once deemed a must, haven't created a sustainable economy for anyone. For good reasons, competitive advantage is being redefined from both lessons learned and new discoveries.
Are you ready?

One indicator of this need for change now happening was described by IBM Chairman and CEO, Sam Palmisano in a visionary call-for-leadership speech in November 2008 after the election of President Barack Obama. It was presented in an address to the Council on Foreign Relations. He envisioned A SMARTER PLANET and described a new leadership agenda. He talked about this time we are experiencing this way: "...a period of discontinuity is, for those with courage and vision, a period of opportunity. Over the next couple of years, there will be winners, and there will be losers. And though it may not be easy to see now, I believe we will see new leaders emerge who win not by surviving the storm, but by changing the game."

So, who are these game changers?
How can YOU be among them?
What role does CURIOSITY play?

What we know for sure is that these new innovators are distinguishing themselves across all industries and sectors of business and society. In my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, I tell numerous stories to prove this point. These exemplary leaders are learning how to put diverse talents together to bring the world new levels of excellence and innovations, big and small, that are truly making a difference. Their actions and results call out to all of us to join them. 

What these leaders appear to have in common is that they are mastering a new level of CURIOSITY about others that is helping them ride the waves of change out in front of the rest. It is showing up in both organizations and in individuals across the globe that are discovering that putting our differences to work is the most powerful accelerator for generating new ideas, creating innovative solutions, executing organizational strategies, and engaging everyone in the process. Futurist Joel Barker established the rationale for this powerful truth in my book, "If you know how to utilize diversity, you can rapidly reap continuous benefits in innovation—both internal innovations that will make your organization better, and external innovations that your customers will clamor for." 

In order to work at this level, I keep learning that it is essential to develop a much keener interest in people than we are used to having --- particularly in people that are different that we are. You've got to learn to look beyond the words on a resume, how someone looks, and seek to discover the full array of differences, knowledge, know-how, values, and unique talents that others possess. This means questioning our habits and learning to SEE DIFFERENCES DIFFERENTLY.

ASKING QUESTIONS HELPS YOU LEARN MORE:
I've been regularly asking people in dialogues I've hosted to share one distinguishing quality they see in themselves as leaders and innovators. Every time, I am blown away by the unique ways we see ourselves. Initially, in these experiments, I only saw the wonderful opportunity that came from learning about others and in it seeing oneself perhaps better. "Ah, yes! I too have that quality."

However, in a recent discussion, on LinkedIn in a group called the LEADERSHIP THINK TANK, I asked a similar question, except this time, I added "...and how has [this distinguishing quality] benefited your effectiveness?" This added bit of genuine CURIOSITY, opened up a whole new realization about the limited ways we see one another when we only consider our biographical information. In this case, I was taken by surprise by the three leaders' that responded. I didn't know any of them before this exchange. What I learned about them I wouldn't have known without asking this deeper question --- and also experienced their individual willingness to openly share and explain. Even this said something about who they are as people and leaders. Here are excerpts from their LEADERSHIP responses:

Patience: It's a quality that I think is overlooked, even more so today than before with the pace at which business occurs these days. ...I have worked in industries known for hectic paces and it was there where I truly honed the virtue of patience. I believe that my ability to either slow a pace down to properly measure a response that is effective or to remove myself from an frenetic situation to gain altitude for proper analysis has allowed me to master many situations both personally and in business that others have been greatly challenged by.

Perseverance:  In today's world full of uncertainties, as leaders, we face too many obstacles and barriers to attaining our vision and purpose. Without perseverance we will fail to make a meaningful difference. Perseverance is the quality that is required to face failure and then to get up again to lead the fight another day/week/month/year and win.

Being Focused: Being focused each and every moment, every day... is one of the key. If we are focused we will be able to know what we want, what is happening around us, how to lead people. If you are not focused, you tend to be tossed around by different opinions and other external factors. 

THE VALUE OF CURIOSITY: A 21st Century Differentiator
Three lessons were learned in taking in these leader's responses that I wanted to pass along to you:

1) Genuine curiosity broadens your insight about others. It's important to develop a genuine CURIOSITY about others; asking questions helps you see new dimensions about who they are that goes beyond what's on the resume. It also helps you see a new kind of insight about their knowledge, know-how, and approach to their important work.

2) Asking questions can help you identify unique talents. The power of the insight we gain when we do, seems to offer a glimpse into a person's thinking, experience, intentions, and values we miss otherwise.

3) Insight about others builds a reservoir of talent for collaboration. Learning more about others, helps you master the art of putting differences to work with teams, in seeing new opportunities for collaborations, and in identifying distinguishing qualities that may be needed for innovation with new partners and stakeholders.

        "There is much serious work ahead of us, as leaders and as citizens.
        Together, we have to consciously infuse intelligence into our 
        decision-making and management systems… not just infuse our 
        processes with more speed and capacity."   
                                                        --- Sam Palmisano, IBM Chairman and CEO

May you be inspired to be more conscious about developing a genuine CURIOSITY about others. I leave you pondering how I plan to do the same.

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center  
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance (Berrett-Koehler 2008)
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

 

Facebook  http://profile.to/debbekennedy/
Twitter @onlinedialogues and @debbekennedy
 

   

Comments

[Jane]

Debbe, what a wonderful post -- one of your best!

[Paula Patinella]

And, isn't it curiosity that makes you a more interesting person? There are so many distractions in our lives today that keeping focused is a real challenge. I've had people say to me that they really don't know what their passion is, and that makes it even more difficult to focus. I have decided that my passion doesn't have a title or a category, it occurs when I am most myself, and using my natural talents in uncontrived ways. Sometimes that coincides with my work, sometimes it doesn't.

[Global Dialogue Center BLOGS]

Thanks, Jane! Curiosity is one of your best qualities, I agree! It's fun to get in trouble now and then :-) That's how you took off to make your wonderful film, SINGLE http://www.singlefilm.com/

Paula, I think you are so right! Curiosity does make us more interesting. Your lesson about using your passion and natural talents in uncontrived ways also hits home. What I've learned over the years is that my natural talents have expanded; I'm not sure I recognized all of them when I first started my career. Some were dormant and needed opportunities and teachers that brought them out in me. How about you?

Best...
Debbe