When I was fresh out of college and heard someone say, “that’s not possible,” my knee-jerk reaction was to label them as closed-minded and afraid of innovation. Now, nearly a decade later, I see how shortsighted that was.
At the time, I was part of a team exploring the market potential for new products. I was assigned a project to lead and got to work, but no matter what I tried, I struggled to get some scientists on board. They were reluctant to run the tests we needed, repeatedly insisting the project was bound to fail.
Initially, I saw them as closed-minded, but when I approached the situation with curiosity and asked, “Why won’t it work?” I learned valuable information that helped shape our approach. The scientists explained that the team had tried this idea twice before, and each time it failed due to factors outside of our control.
This explanation made sense. Understandably, people were frustrated about repeating a project that was likely to fail again. This insight was incredibly helpful; rather than restarting the project from scratch, we examined the factors that had led to failure previously, and, since those barriers were still present, we recommended canceling the project.
Had I simply labeled my team as closed-minded, we would have wasted months and hundreds of thousands of dollars replicating work that would ultimately yield the same unsuccessful outcome.
So how do you approach communication challenges with curiosity instead of judgement?
- Don’t Innovate in a Vacuum – To start approaching challenging discussions with curiosity instead of judgment, you need to put yourself out there — share your work, receive feedback and make adjustments.
- Don’t Judge Initial Interactions at Face Value – Initial conclusions, as mentioned above, often miss the nuances of someone’s background, intentions or challenges. When we judge too quickly, we risk overlooking key factors that could help us achieve better results in our work.
- Ask Open-ended Questions – Open-ended questions create space for other people to share their thoughts fully. Through this process, you can uncover blind spots or solution biases you might not have been aware of.
- Be Prepared – Curiosity doesn’t mean “have someone else do my work.” If you come prepared and demonstrate that you’ve done your due diligence, others are much more likely to help you achieve your desired outcome. When you’ve done the groundwork, discussions are more productive, leading to mutually beneficial solutions.
- Drop the Ego – It’s okay to be wrong — as long as you handle it properly. When you’re judgmental, your ego comes through. When you’re curious, you reach the best outcome and build relationships with others who can become sponsors or allies.
In the workplace, communication challenges are inevitable, especially when navigating diverse perspectives, past experiences and strong opinions. However, how we approach these challenges can make all the difference.
Choosing to respond with curiosity, rather than judgment, opens the door to newfound knowledge, personal growth and comprehensive solutions. By pausing to explore the rationale behind someone else’s perspective, we begin to unravel a tapestry of insights — each thread bringing us closer to understanding the bigger picture.
A curious mindset isn’t just a skill; it’s a powerful framework for lifelong learning and effective leadership.
