Authentic Achievements – The Power of Curiosity.
Unveiling the Uncharted Territories: The Power of Curiosity Welcome to another riveting episode of Authentic Achievements with your host, Kim-Adele Randall! Today, we embark on an exhilarating journey into the depths of curiosity – a beacon guiding us to the realms of innovation, growth, and self-discovery.
Curiosity, often labelled as the engine of progress, is more than just a fleeting emotion. It’s a force that propels humanity forward, fueling our thirst for knowledge and igniting the flames of exploration. Join us as we delve into how curiosity shapes our lives, careers, and aspirations.
Throughout history, curiosity has been the cornerstone of remarkable achievements. From the intrepid voyages of explorers charting uncharted territories to the groundbreaking discoveries of scientists unravelling the mysteries of the universe, curiosity has been the driving force behind humanity’s greatest triumphs. But curiosity isn’t confined to the annals of history – it’s a potent catalyst for personal and professional growth in our everyday lives. By embracing curiosity, we open ourselves up to new experiences, perspectives, and possibilities. It’s the key that unlocks the doors to innovation and creativity, enabling us to break free from the constraints of the status quo and forge our own paths forward.
Together, we’ll explore how curiosity can inspire us to push boundaries, challenge assumptions, and pursue our passions with unwavering determination.
So, tune in as we unravel the mysteries of curiosity and unlock the secrets to authentic achievement. Join us on this exhilarating adventure as we dare to ask the questions that lead us to new horizons and uncover the limitless potential within each of us. Get ready to be inspired, empowered, and energized – because the journey to authentic achievement begins with a single question: What if? Welcome to Authentic Achievements – where curiosity knows no bounds and the possibilities are endless. Let’s embark on this transformative voyage together and discover the extraordinary power of curiosity.
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Transcript:
hello and welcome to today’s episode of
0:03authentic achievements where I really
0:05wanted to delve into the topic of
0:08curiosity for many years particularly
0:11when I was in the throws of crippling
0:14self-doubt and possibly if I wanted to
0:16find a label um struggling with my own
0:19inner impostor I used to tell everybody
0:22that I’d made my career asking the dumb
0:25girl questions asking the stupid
0:27questions that nobody else would ask but
0:30as I’ve continued to grow and develop
0:33and found some inner confidence I
0:36realized it wasn’t actually the dumb
0:37girl questions I made my career by being
0:40passionately curious curious about why I
0:43thought what I thought why other people
0:45thought what they thought and that
0:48Curiosity enabled me to take on new
0:52challenges to lead major
0:55Transformations seemingly effortlessly
0:58because I think one of the things we’ve
1:00forgotten is to be curious we’re so busy
1:04worrying about what people think about
1:06us and trying to ensure that we remain
1:11seeming like we know what’s going on
1:13looking like we’re in control that
1:15actually any sign that we don’t know
1:18what’s going on is deemed a sign of
1:20weakness and yet it really is a sign of
1:24strength it takes courage to be
1:26vulnerable enough to tell people I don’t
1:28know that I don’t know the answer
1:30um but also to be willing to want to
1:33learn it to want to say but I want to
1:35know and who can tell me who can teach
1:38me this one of the fastest growing
1:41Industries right now is the knowledge
1:43industry because we have a thirst for
1:45that knowledge we want to know how to do
1:47more things we want to be able to make
1:49our lives easier swifter more simple and
1:53yet we don’t outwardly share that
1:56Curiosity and in leadership I’ve seen it
2:00be one of the greatest skills some of
2:02the best leaders that I’ve had the
2:03privilege of working with are
2:06passionately curious they ask those
2:09inquisitive questions they want to know
2:11more even if they have a different
2:13opinion to you rather than just ask
2:16enough questions to prove themselves
2:18right they ask enough questions to see
2:21if they can actually prove themselves
2:23wrong and that’s the Lynch pin that
2:26unlocks all of those opportunities is to
2:30innovate to think differently to create
2:35ideas solutions that just wouldn’t be
2:38here without them if we think about all
2:40the great inventions that there’s ever
2:42been even finding new land all came down
2:46to someone who’d got passionate
2:48curiosity and a belief that they could
2:51find it that they could do something
2:54differently about it we think about
2:56children and their amazing capacity it
3:00to develop to learn new things things
3:02that would overwhelm us if we had to
3:05learn them today things like learning
3:07how to walk for the first time talk for
3:10the first time learn a language from
3:12scratch all those things that we can do
3:14but they seem daunting they seem
3:17overwhelming to us as adults as
3:21children we fly at those with a sense of
3:25wonder and
3:26engagement and it’s because children are
3:29curing ious they’re curious about
3:31everything anybody like me who has well
3:35I’ve got a seven-year-old but certainly
3:36when she was a little bit younger and
3:38they go through the why stage but why is
3:40this why that why the other and it can
3:42feel like it’s never going to end but
3:46actually all they’re doing is trying to
3:48make sense of their world trying to make
3:50sense of what’s going on why it’s going
3:52on where where is it coming
3:54from and I think once we develop that as
3:58adults we can actually start to make
4:01really complex situations much simpler
4:04when people are coming at things from a
4:06position of curiosity there’s no
4:08judgment there’s no if I say opposite to
4:12you then I’m going to be wrong because
4:13they’re just interested they’re
4:15intrigued you know when I look at if I
4:18ever end up in a difficult situation
4:20with somebody I question myself as much
4:22as I question them I wonder why I’m so
4:24adamant that this is the right answer I
4:27wonder how they’ve got to their conclus
4:29conclusion and the only way I’m going to
4:31know that is to ask better questions so
4:34understand and I think that’s for me has
4:36been one of my greatest lessons in life
4:38was learning to listen to understand and
4:42not interject I used to asking of
4:44questions to give me the answer that I
4:47thought I already knew and I saw that
4:49running sales teams all of the
4:52time they would ask enough questions for
4:54them to be able to pitch the product
4:56instead of asking enough questions until
4:59the client really understood the problem
5:03that you were solving and were ready for
5:05it to be solved so I think being
5:08comfortable in asking more questions in
5:10being comfortable in being that open
5:13curiosity is going to be what helps us
5:16move on to this next stage this next
5:18Evolution As Leaders as to how do we
5:21lead in these evolving times how do we
5:24ensure that we keep our Workforce
5:27engaged how do we deal with the
5:30diversity and inclusion of all the
5:33elements so that could be race it could
5:35be gender it could be
5:37neurodiversity all of those things the
5:39only way we’re going to really
5:41understand how to integrate those how to
5:44make everybody feel included is to be
5:48really curious about how does it feel to
5:52right now and how do we make it feel
5:54better and and what are the things that
5:56we’re doing that we don’t realize are
5:59actually setting us back rather than
6:01moving us forward because I believe most
6:04people’s intentions are honorable we
6:06don’t start out thinking how do I get
6:09this wrong we instead start out trying
6:11to get it right trying to leave things
6:14better than we found them trying to make
6:17a positive impact that doesn’t mean we
6:19always get it right and I remember once
6:22delivering some feedback to somebody and
6:25this poor soul had been kicked around an
6:27organization because they were quite
6:29difficult
6:30and eventually they got moved from
6:32Pillar To Post and they were only still
6:34there because they were a member of the
6:36family and yet nobody wanted to work
6:38with them and I was giving this person a
6:41disciplinary and they ended up they were
6:44just like I’ll just sign it I was like
6:45you can’t you can’t just sign it because
6:48you don’t understand what it is that
6:51you’re doing that we need you to change
6:53and because you don’t understand it
6:55you’ll do it again and that means in a
6:57few weeks time we could be having a very
6:59different conversation and that doesn’t
7:02feel right um and then I remember
7:04thinking about it and thinking let me
7:06try it it from a different angle so I
7:08sat down with her and I said let’s let’s
7:10try it from a different place let me
7:12start with what I think your intentions
7:14are and just check whether or I’m right
7:16am I on the right lines is this what
7:18you’re trying to achieve so I went
7:20through all of her intentions I think
7:22you intend to be a great team member I
7:25think you’ve got a real passion for the
7:27organization I think you want it to
7:29succeed I think you want everybody to
7:32think well about the organization would
7:34I be right in that and she’s like yeah
7:37absolutely it’s like brilliant because
7:39that’s exactly what we’d like you to do
7:41but can I just explain the impact you’re
7:43having because while that’s what you’re
7:45trying to do what actually happens is
7:48people hold their breath when you come
7:51in in the morning to see what mood
7:53you’re in because that’s going to set
7:55the tone for the whole
7:57day if something is done in a slightly
8:00different way to the way that you
8:04thought it was going to be done instead
8:06of just being curious and asking more
8:09questions about it you will literally go
8:11Toe to Toe with somebody and be
8:13screaming at them and I know you don’t
8:15mean to be screaming at them you’re
8:18frustrated with what’s going on but the
8:20impact is people are scared people don’t
8:23want to work with you because they’re
8:26nervous and yet they love you and see
8:27you as a friend and you saw in the
8:30moment where actually she
8:33understood how the impact of what she
8:36was doing was very different from her
8:38intention and then we could actually
8:40work together on how do we fix this how
8:42do we find a safe space for you to be
8:44able to work
8:46through when you get frustrated with
8:49these things and find a calmer way of
8:51being able to talk about it and a lot of
8:54that is finding a space where you can
8:56take away some of the emotion where you
8:59can actually get people to know that we
9:02are not here to attack we’re not here to
9:06make them look wrong or to make them
9:09uncomfortable there’s a great book that
9:11I share with lots of clients which is
9:14the um crucial conversations book and it
9:18talks about the fact that in life
9:19whether that’s in work or outside of
9:21work there are moments when we have a
9:24conversation that becomes crucial and
9:26what they mean by that is one that’s
9:28fueled by emotion
9:30one or both parties are actually coming
9:32at it from a position of fear fear of
9:34being made to look wrong fear of being
9:37lied to fear of being made to look silly
9:39um doesn’t matter what the fear is
9:41there’s fear there and as a result of
9:44that when we are fearful we feel under
9:47attack and as we all know the best form
9:50of defense is to attack and so we go on
9:53the attack we start to change our body
9:56language our words we pick the tone we
9:59use and all of a sudden this
10:01conversation gets very heated very
10:04quickly and so the book shares this
10:06really simple five steps that I’ve been
10:09using now for about 11 years and it
10:12really works and the first one is to
10:15share a bit of vulnerability to let the
10:17person know you’re not here to attack
10:19them you’re not here you know because
10:21you want to make them wrong I was
10:23working with a client the other day and
10:26I had to start the conversation with I’m
10:28really conflicted about bringing this up
10:30it’s a really uncomfortable conversation
10:32to
10:33have however and this is the second step
10:36share why you’re doing it I know I need
10:39to let you know because you if not
10:43you’re going to carry
10:44on with this behavior and you’re going
10:48to be surprised by the impact it has
10:50because no one’s telling you um so that
10:53reason for telling you is you need to
10:55know and then the third piece set an
10:57intention for the convers
11:00so my third bit was you know I’m
11:01completely committed to finding a
11:03solution that works for all of us and
11:06and the reason why that one is so
11:08important is when you can then share
11:11your next one which is as a start of a
11:1310 here’s a suggested Way Forward if the
11:15person goes that’s not going to work for
11:17me it’s like that’s fine because
11:18remember Our intention is we’re going to
11:20find a solution that works for everybody
11:22it allows you then to start having a
11:24debate down here where it’s factual
11:26instead of up here where we’re playing
11:28still in that emotion because our
11:30emotional brain responds 24 times faster
11:33than our thinking brain so we think
11:35we’re nice calm logical human beings but
11:38the reality is something happens and we
11:41make it mean something and then we’re
11:43now dealing with what we’ve made it mean
11:45rather than what actually happened and
11:47that’s where conflict comes from because
11:49what we’ve made it mean is different to
11:50what the other person made it mean but
11:52if we can open ourselves up to that
11:55passionate curiosity if we can be
11:57willing to ask those questions s to seek
12:00to find the commonalities then actually
12:03we can find that the conflict isn’t as
12:05big as we thought it was or in fact
12:07isn’t even there at all because most
12:09conflict comes down to misunderstanding
12:12misinformation or miscommunication and
12:15if we ask better questions we can really
12:18get underneath that we can understand
12:21why we’ve got that difference of opinion
12:23and we can try and find a path back
12:25together and when we do that we create a
12:29culture around us where people also seek
12:33to understand they seek to find those
12:37commonalities and they seek to
12:40understand also why there are those
12:42differences of opinions why there are
12:45different viewpoints because we do live
12:47in a world of polarity for every up
12:49there’s a down for every left there’s a
12:51right and one doesn’t exist without the
12:54other so until we get ourselves in a
12:57place where we are confident
12:59enough to be uncomfortable with the
13:03uncomfortable then actually we’re going
13:05to stop learning and for me that was
13:08probably my biggest lesson in leadership
13:10was having to get comfortable with the
13:14uncomfortable I remember probably one of
13:16the biggest occasions where that
13:18happened was running my first ever major
13:21redundency never a comfortable thing to
13:23do never a nice thing to do and I
13:25remember the day before we were about to
13:27make the announcement was a publicly
13:29listed company so we had to uh follow
13:32market trading rules and I was sat
13:34before the board and they were like Kim
13:37are we ready I remember looking at them
13:39and saying we’re ready we’re as ready as
13:41we’re ever going to be and everybody
13:43looked horrified and like well should we
13:46should we postpone should we wait and I
13:48was like no what I mean by that is we’ve
13:50prepared for everything we can possibly
13:52prepare for but what I can’t prepare for
13:54what I don’t know and can never know is
13:57what this piece of information is going
13:59to do when added to whatever burden the
14:031800 people that we’re going to tell
14:06tomorrow their jobs are a risk or
14:08already carrying I can’t know that all I
14:11can do is be willing to hold the space
14:14for them for them to deal with the news
14:18however they need to deal with the news
14:20I’ve got to be there and and prepare and
14:23give them that space and then I also
14:25remember standing up in front of the
14:27room of people and saying the first
14:30thing I need you to remember is it is
14:32not
14:34happening because of you this is not
14:37happening because of anything you did
14:40it’s it is happening to you you are
14:43impacted but it’s not not happening
14:45because of you because the reality is
14:48redundancies don’t happen because of the
14:50people that are made redundant
14:52redundancies happen because something
14:54impacted the
14:56organization something happened that
14:58meant the organization
14:59wasn’t able to navigate the storm it was
15:03going through the people impacted by
15:07redundancy are the individuals they’re
15:09the people that have to live with it but
15:11we never take the time to tell them it’s
15:13not about them it’s not because of
15:15anything they did it’s not because
15:17they’re not a great person because if
15:20they weren’t performing they would have
15:22been being managed out most people that
15:24are made redundant were actually
15:26performing really really well but the
15:28problem is as a leader leading a
15:31redundancy there’s an element of
15:35guilt guilt that we couldn’t lead the
15:38organization to a better
15:40outcome we also know that no one’s going
15:44to like the message unless it’s you
15:47people choosing um to put themselves
15:50forward for WR and say we know it’s a
15:52bad message we know it’s a message no
15:54one’s going to go thanks for that that’s
15:56really made my day and so as leaders
15:59very often we feel a little bit under
16:01attack we think that no one’s going to
16:03like the message and everyone’s going to
16:07blame us and so
16:09inadvertently we actually change our
16:11language we change our body tone and we
16:15become cold we become very scripted it’s
16:18very much this is how you say it this is
16:20where we’re going we’re not willing to
16:22be vulnerable in those moments and say
16:25I’m sorry I should look in front of
16:27those people and said the reason we are
16:29here is quite simply I couldn’t lead us
16:33to a better outcome and for that I’m
16:35genuinely sorry I could have looked at
16:37that and said the first one I ever did I
16:39ran probably two months into starting an
16:42organizations the reality is I probably
16:45couldn’t have turned that oil tank
16:47around any quicker um than we managed to
16:52we did have to make rides to go my job
16:55as a leader as it has always been is to
16:58save as many jobs as humanely possible
17:00and doing that by trying to get the
17:02business to grow by trying to make sure
17:04that we are staying ahead of the market
17:05trends but when that goes wrong the only
17:08way that you can save as many jobs as
17:10you possibly can is sometimes to cut a
17:12few jobs out but being able to share
17:16that with people to stand in front of
17:17them and deal with their frustration
17:20their anger I had one lady who was very
17:23angry quite rightly and had lots to say
17:27and I’m and I share stood as as she was
17:30sharing and I said I completely
17:31understand where you’re coming from if I
17:33were in your shoes I might think that as
17:36well I promise you that’s not what
17:38happened um what happened was we we hit
17:42some turbulence that we didn’t foresee
17:44we thought we knew where we were going
17:46we thought we knew what was happening
17:48and actually we then got hit with a you
17:51with another financial burden that we
17:53just couldn’t overcome and that’s the
17:55reason we’re here and I remember a bit
17:57later on in the day that lady came to
17:58find me to apologize and I said please
18:00don’t apologize to me I delivered a
18:03really really awful awful message and
18:07you were quite right to be angry you
18:09have every right to be angry because you
18:12have to live with that and I remember
18:15going back at the end of that day to
18:17back to the main office were over um
18:19four different sites and I um saw my
18:23boss who said you know I’ve had the
18:25worst day and I was like you really
18:26haven’t and he w’t okay yet no you’ve
18:28had the worst and I said no I really
18:30haven’t my really bad day was yesterday
18:33my bad day was last night when I went
18:35home knowing nothing was going to change
18:37the fact that today I had to get up and
18:39tell these people that their jobs were
18:42at
18:43risk I get to go home tonight and my
18:46worst bits over all those people that I
18:49told have to go home tonight and tell
18:52their families tell their loved ones
18:54tell the people around them that this
18:57change is coming and that they now got
18:59to think about how do they move forward
19:02with that and how do they move forward
19:04in a position where they’re unharmed
19:06because for me that’s one of the biggest
19:07challenges when we make people redundant
19:10is we don’t take the time to let them
19:12know it’s not about them it wasn’t
19:14because of something they did it was
19:16because of what the organization did and
19:18so you see those
19:20people harmed by the situation they are
19:24scared going into their next job it’s
19:25going to happen again they think it’s
19:27about them and I’ve met over the years
19:30many people who’ve been made rendant
19:31time and time again because they believe
19:34that that’s going to be what happens I’m
19:37one of the things I’m most proud of is
19:38the first one I ever ran 98% of the
19:42people had a job by the point that we
19:44actually closed the site somewhere else
19:47and that was because we engaged with
19:49local businesses we went to um the
19:51council we went to every um organization
19:54we could think of and said these are
19:55great people they’re not in this
19:58position because because they’re not
19:59brilliant employees they’re in this
20:01position because of what happened to the
20:03organization and the situation that we
20:05were
20:06in and as a result of that they went on
20:09to be hugely successful and to continue
20:12to thrive and I think for me there the
20:15parts that probably looking back at my
20:18career have been those moments where I
20:22learned something and I grew it was that
20:24willingness to be vulnerable it was that
20:27passion of curiosity and one of the
20:31things that I used to ask in every
20:32organization I ever went into is go and
20:34speak to the people out the front line
20:37the people that are doing the job every
20:38day and say can you tell me what the
20:39silliest thing is that we make you do
20:42what is it we make you do every day that
20:43you go no idea why are we doing this it
20:47makes no sense because that is often the
20:51Kingpin to unlocking an organization
20:54because either it will just be really
20:56silly and it will have happened happened
20:58many years ago and it’s now just
21:00become part of the fabric it’s the thing
21:04that’s hiding in plain sight um and so
21:07we can stop that so we don’t need to do
21:09that there’s no requirement um for the
21:11organization for the regulator for the
21:13client or for yourself so we can call
21:15quits to that or it will be something
21:18that needs to be done but we’ve not
21:20explained why it needs to be done and so
21:22the people doing it are just left with a
21:25feeling of frustration that look at the
21:27silly things they make we do every day
21:29and there’s no reason for this so very
21:32often it will identify either something
21:35that’s missing in our communication or
21:37something that is missing in our process
21:41Improvement but I used to think that
21:43that was just because I wasn’t very
21:46bright instead of realizing now it was
21:49because I was willing to be vulnerable
21:51and curious and so I thought I would
21:55share in today’s episode the power of
21:58that curiosity that asking more
22:01questions seeking to understand the
22:03other person’s point of view as a way of
22:07really trying to develop yourself and
22:10them because when you ask them more
22:12questions they’ll ask you more questions
22:14it suddenly becomes more about a
22:16position of inquiry I do it with my
22:18little girl all the time um instead of
22:21just immediately deciding that she wants
22:24an answer very often she just wants a
22:27debate she wants to be able to use her
22:30own powers of thought imagination
22:34curiosity to make her own decision to
22:38make her own opinion and so instead of
22:41just saying well the answer is this so
22:42well okay what do you think the answer
22:44might be I can tell you what I think it
22:46might be and then we can share does that
22:48seem right does that not seem right
22:50where do we go um from that but it takes
22:53a little bit more time to do that it
22:55takes a little bit more time to help
22:59people remain curious and I saw the
23:02other day and it was really
23:04heartbreaking we were walking back from
23:06school and my little girl was you know
23:08massively using her imagination and she
23:11got by told by one of the other children
23:13you shouldn’t do that you shouldn’t use
23:14your imagination and I was like why I
23:17said as long as we as long as we’re
23:19honest and we say I’m imagining rather
23:21than making out it happened and that we
23:23believe we believe it to be true which
23:24is a lie um we should always use our
23:27imagination because once we stop
23:30learning and we stop being curious and
23:32we stop
23:34imagining then that would mean we’ never
23:36ever be better than we are right now in
23:40this
23:42moment and that for me just feels too
23:45sad so I’m trying really hard not just
23:48in work but outside of work to go
23:50there’s got to be a different way
23:52there’s got to be a way where with the
23:54power of curiosity and the willingness
23:57to
23:59be vulnerable and be different that we
24:01can actually make a breakthrough and
24:04learn something different my
24:07grandparents gave me in my opinion two
24:10really great pieces of advice my nan
24:12said every day should be a school day in
24:15every day we should learn something or
24:17learn how to do something differently
24:20and my granddad said live each day as if
24:22it should last and one day you’ll be
24:24right and I took from that that what he
24:26means is don’t put off till tomorrow
24:30something you can do today because
24:32tomorrow isn’t promised and so I try now
24:35every day to do both of those and it was
24:38on their advice that I decided for
24:41today’s episode I would just come on on
24:44my own I wouldn’t come on and interview
24:46somebody else I’d be vulnerable and
24:50curious about how it might land and just
24:53come and share a little bit more about
24:55me so thank you to everybody who has
24:58been watching and listening I hope it’s
25:00been useful and you’ll be pleased to
25:02know next time I will have a guest thank
25:05you all take
25:09care