Hi there. Have you ever interacted with a talkative three-year-old who asked you a series of why questions? That's what I picture when I think about curiosity, one of the sixth signature traits of highly inclusive leaders. Let's explore how curiosity matters to inclusive leadership. A dictionary definition of curiosity is an eager wish to learn or know about something. Here's a definition from the Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. Curiosity is a pleasant motivational state involving the tendency to recognize and seek out novel and challenging information and experiences. Notice how both definitions imply a positive intention, an eager wish, and a pleasant motivational state. This is an important quality of curiosity. The field of psychology has cited curiosity as a universal human trait that begins during infancy. Research has identified valuable effects of being curious. Curiosity aids personal growth and learning, strengthens social bonds, improves well-being, and reduces perceived stress. Especially relevant to inclusion in the workplace, being curious is associated with a reduced reliance on stereotypes. To understand curiosity and inclusive leadership, let's review research from two scholars. Dr. Allison Hortsmeyer describes herself as a curiosity mobilizer, someone who helps others to develop their desire to learn. Her research concluded that individuals are more likely to be empathetic, adaptable, inclusive, and collaborative when their curiosity is an nurtured. Business professor, Francesca Gino has conducted several projects on curiosity in the workplace. Here are some of her findings from various organizations around the world. She found that curiosity helps workers to adapt to uncertain [inaudible] conditions and external pressures such as consumer demand or competition from other organizations. Curiosity has many benefits. It improves deep rational thinking and decision-making. It boosts innovation. It reduces group conflict. It enhances open communication and team performance. It allows leaders to gain respect. Leaders who are curious, inspire employees to be more trusting and more collaborative. Despite these benefits, leaders often discourage curiosity. Dr. Gino observed, although leaders might say they treasure inquisitive minds, in fact, most stifle curiosity, fearing it will increase risk and inefficiency. Dr. Hortsmeyer referred to this as curiosity contradiction. She summarized studies about employees who reported regularly experiencing resistance or being discouraged from asking questions or offering new ideas. Dr. Gino explained why leaders may hesitate to be curious. Leaders tend to think they should provide answers instead of seeking them. They want to appear confident and competent. They do not want to be judged as unintelligent. They don't want to appear in effective. She reported that leaders experience and expertise may affect their curiosity. As individuals move up in their careers, they tend to think they have less to learn. Leaders also believe they're expected to talk and provide answers, not ask questions. I have resisted some of these barriers as a leader. When I was a university chief diversity officer, I recognized they need to update the name of an office that I supervised. That office had changed the types of services that they provided. I felt competent about the need to change the name. I did research to identify names of similar offices on other campuses. I found a few that I thought would be appropriate for us. I was pretty sure that my research was adequate. To be efficient, I was tempted to simply share proposed names with the staff for their feedback. Instead, I decided to invite their ideas. I've found out that two longtime staff members did not want to change the name. I met with them to hear their concerns. Then I scheduled time during our annual retreat to discuss A, whether or not to change the name, and B, if we wanted to change it, to explore new names. I invited one of the staff members to develop a presentation based on her expertise. She had recently earned a master's degree in student affairs. She readily agreed. At the retreat, we all engaged in an in-depth discussion where everyone had an opportunity to weigh in. I learned a lot by listening and asking questions. We unanimously agreed to change the name of the office and we created a name that everyone liked. Highly inclusive leaders recognize the value of being curious. The researchers who identified curiosity as a signature trait noted that inclusive leaders have an open mindset and a hunger for other perspectives and new experiences. How do inclusive leaders exhibit curiosity? Their attitudes and behaviors align with our definition of curiosity. They are motivated and eager to learn. Similar to many little kids, they have a genuine desire for continued learning. They see connections with a wide range of people. They ask questions respectfully. They engage with empathy to understand others. They are patient and not quick to judge. They encourage opposing viewpoints. They actively listen without judgment. I describe how to be an active listener in another video, Dr. Gino encouraged leaders to model curiosity, to show others that it's okay to not know all of the answers. In addition, she advised leaders to foster cultures where employees are invited and taught to ask questions. To support this idea, she shared a story about a family on vacation in 1943 after Edwin Land, a US scientist and inventor, took a picture of his three-year-old daughter, Jennifer. She wanted to see it right away. When he explained that it had to be processed, she asked, ''Why do we have to wait?'' That question inspired Dr. Land to invent the polaroid instant camera, which revolutionized photography. In conclusion, leaders can benefit from cultivating curiosity in the workplace. They can try to revive the thirst to know that most of us had when we were young. As Dr. Gino noted, maintaining a sense of wonder is crucial to creativity and innovation. The most effective leaders look for ways to nurture their employees' curiosity, to fuel learning and discovery. In future lessons, I will share strategies and techniques for how to cultivate curiosity. Coming up next, the signature trait, cultural intelligence. See you later.