#12: The Importance of Curiosity to your HR Career

Perhaps you've heard the saying, "curiosity killed the cat," which implies that somehow being curious is a bad thing. In my home curiosity only seems to get the cats (and our dog) more attention, but the saying has stood the test of time. In this episode, I flip that saying on its head and show you four ways that the ability to stay curious can help you become a more effective HR professional.

 

The Four Reasons Why Curiosity is Important for an HR Career are:

1. Boosts Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
2. Sparks Innovation and Improves Workplaces
3. Help your Transfer of Learning and Retention
4. Help you Build Positive Relationships

Here is a summary of the show:

• [00:18] - Curiosity is a natural instinct that activates the memory centers of your brain and gives you a rush of dopamine, the pleasure chemical.
• [02:37] - Believing that you know everything is a missed opportunity. There is so much value in learning.
• [05:27] - Today I am talking about why curiosity is important to a successful HR career. I share the four reasons why curiosity is important listed above.
• [07:06] - One of the core responsibilities of an HR professional is to solve problems. Managers generally come to their HR partners when they have problems to solve. You may have history with this situation, but jumping to a solution too quickly can lead to solving the wrong problem. Staying curious keeps you open to discover the right problem.
• [08:11] - I share an example of how this can happen with a personal experience from my consulting practice. What the company thought was an attendance problem turned out to be a serious turnover and recruiting and retention problem.
• [11:19] - The second reasons curiosity is important is that is sparks innovation and improves workplaces. So much has changed in the last ten to fifteen years in the field of HR and how workplaces function. Technology has changed so much of what we do.
• [14:56] - HR departments and leaders are now faced with huge challenges in adapting their workplaces to a world with COVID-19. I belive that if you stay curious you will be able to help you and your organization do just that.
• [16:08] - The third reason I believe curiosity is important in an HR role is that it helps us with learning transfer and retention. The science shows that when you are curious you will have an easier time remember. I share examples of how learning things I am not interested in are not retained by me. The same applies to your employees.
• [18:02] - This is why hiring people who are engaged with your vision and mission are going to make them better at their job, more engaged and perform better. This also applies to you with your job search. Chose career paths and roles you are interested in.
• [19:31] - The fourth and final reason that curiosity is important to your HR career is that it helps you build more positive relationships. This quote from Roy T. Bennett sums this up nicely. He says, "Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don't listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we don't listen with the intent to reply. We listen for what's behind the words."
• [20:39] - When we listen to reply, I believe it happens in part because we are fearful of having to change.
• [21:02] - I share the example of an employee meeting to illustrate what happens when we aren't curious. It blocks you from getting to the truth or the problem and more importantly it erodes trust with that individual and damages relationships. We close ourselves off to connection, understanding and solutions.
• [22:34] - When you are curious you open yourself up to better relationships, healthier workplaces and better results.
• [22:53] - Brené Brown's book, "Braving the Wilderness" has a chapter called, "People are hard to hate up close. Move in." and this phrase illustrates to me why there is value in trying to understand people. Getting closer to people by being curious about them helps us reduce our angry reactions and assumptions and thus develop better understanding and relationships.
• [25:07] - HR professionals are in a unique position in the organization to develop an understanding of both the employee and manager perspectives. You are poised perfectly to use your curiosity to create effective solutions and innovate. You can do this by tapping into your natural instinct of curiosity.
• [25:38] - I summarize the four reasons I believe curiosity is important for your HR career. Here they are again.

The Four Reasons Why Curiosity is Important for an HR Career are:

1. Boosts Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
2. Sparks Innovation and Improves Workplaces
3. Help your Transfer of Learning and Retention
4. Help you Build Positive Relationships

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