The Importance of Curiosity and Openness

Having discussed the meaning of curiosity and openness, and given you tips about how to develop them, I now want to consider their importance.

Firstly, curiosity.

Revered scientist Albert Einstein succinctly captured the importance of curiosity when he said “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence.”

It’s no secret that learning a new topic can be more challenging when you’re not interested.

However, when you’re already curious about what you’re learning, the process transforms into something more engaging and enjoyable.

The real value of curiosity lies in wanting to dig deeper and understand the underlying reasons, or the why, behind things.

So, why is this important?

Knowing the reasons behind why things work the way they do can help develop intuition. This, in turn, can improve memory and the ability to recall information, rather than simply recognising it when it’s presented to you.

A good question can serve as a guiding hand, helping you navigate the unknown. By having a better understanding of the underlying reasons for things, they can become more comprehensible.

Finally, questioning what’s unfamiliar can sometimes even lead to discovering entirely new information.

Now let’s consider openness.

Firstly, openness promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion.

When you’re open, accepting and amicable with others, you’ll improve diversity and inclusion

and create an environment whereby everyone is treated equally.

This is an appealing quality that employees now look for when choosing their next career move. Organisations that mistreat employees and fail to adhere to diversity and inclusion are labelled as behind the times and unapproachable.

Secondly, openness transforms company culture

What is your Companies culture? Photo Mimi Thian Unsplash

Company culture is the driving force that dictates everything from the employee experience to your retention, engagement, and ultimately the bottom line.

Your employees are one of the biggest stakeholders in your business - it’s important they’re happy, and this happiness must begin with culture.

From open dialogue in the workplace to trust and honesty, leaders lead by example and instil these characteristics in the company.

Finally, openness embraces innovative and forward-thinking ideas.

A workplace that doesn’t embrace trust and openness can’t embrace innovation. When people feel uncomfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas, they share less and less.

You should take all ideas seriously, whether you agree or disagree with them. The more you encourage your employees to come forward with ideas, or even concerns with the running of a project, department or the business as a whole, the more improvements can be made.

Look out for the final blog in this series - “What are the benefits of curiosity and openness?”

If you need further information about these approaches, or any other resilience topic, please contact russell@theresiliencecoach.co.uk.