A fun fact about me – if you didn’t already know – is that I am an avid birdwatcher. Birdwatching became a hobby during the covid lockdown, and I even went so far as to purchase a “Birder’s Life List & Journal” because it allowed me to “check off” birds as I see them, and compile a master list of birds (I’m now up to 170 unique birds). Another fun fact – I LOVE checklists!
Recently, I visited the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. This was a garden that had long been on my bucket list of gardens to visit, and it didn’t disappoint. One of the reasons I was looking forward to the visit was the prospect of identifying new birds that were specific to the southwest. I arrived at the garden armed with the Merlin Bird ID app on my phone, which is fantastic at identifying birds by both sound and photo. I wasn’t 5 minutes into the garden and I started hearing all sorts of new birds – Cactus Wren, Gila Woodpecker, Verdin…just to name a few.
As I wandered around the garden, I encountered an area called the oasis. While enjoying the sounds of the water, I heard a new bird call. I pulled up the Merlin app, and it identified the bird as a Cooper’s Hawk. I was excited because this was a hawk I’ve been wanting to hear or see, and now – here it was! I listened for a bit more, and when I had my fill, I made my way up the path. Not far from the oasis was a volunteer stand, where there was an older woman practicing her speech for a tour later that day. I asked her if there was a Cooper’s Hawk in the area, and she confirmed that was the bird I heard – “A real find,” according to her.
She had a lot of cactus “parts” laying on her table, and I started asking her about the Saguaro Cacti – and I learned some fascinating things. After about 20 minutes, I made my move to continue down the path. The volunteer said, “Thank you for being curious.”
A couple of days later, on the long drive back to Alabama, we stopped at a tourist trap / gift shop called the Painted Desert Indian Center in Holbrook, Arizona. Yet another fun fact about me – I love turquoise and natural stone jewelry. The saleswoman there was educating me on where the various stones came from, and later I asked her if I could visit the “rug room” in the back of the store. When she unlocked the door, I soon discovered there was much more than rugs in the room to include a huge assortment of Navajo wedding baskets. I started asking some questions, and we chatted for quite some time (I’m saving that dialog for another video or post). At the end of that conversation, she also thanked me for asking questions and being curious about her culture and traditions.
What strikes me about the conversations with both the garden volunteer, and the Indian Center saleswoman was that they THANKED me for asking questions. The both had a sincere love of sharing their information, whether about cacti or cultural traditions. But, with them thanking me, it made me reflect on the role that curiosity plays in leadership.
Can one be a successful leader without being curious? What does a lack of curiosity say about an individual? For real growth to happen within ourselves, doesn’t there need to be a degree of curiosity?
For me, curiosity drives creativity and innovation. Curiosity brings about new interests, new hobbies, new passions. Curiosity has led me into new business ventures and transforming the lives of others. Curiosity has also provided timely solutions to challenges, ranging from simple inconveniences to great personal tragedies.
In my experiences of interacting with leaders in various points on their journey, curiosity has been a common trait. Leaders are always learning, whether through books, podcasts, industry news, conferences, etc. Leaders are always asking questions, whether it’s how to improve a process or how to increase sales – just to name a couple. Leaders also like to surround themselves with other curious people; together real innovation and progress can be made.
My question for each of you – what NEW person/ place / thing / idea will you be curious about today, and how will you use that to further your journey as an individual and as a leader?
