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Is Your Curiosity Helping or Hurting You Professionally?

Published Mon Nov 20 2023

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Curiosity is an important skill in the workplace, but if it’s left unchecked, it can hinder you professionally. Unfettered curiosity can lead to unproductive distraction, but intentional curiosity can be directed toward specific goals. The former can have negative consequences such as stress and missed deadlines, but using curiosity as a force for good in the workplace has several benefits. Specifically, leverage curiosity for productivity in three key ways: First, identify what’s useful. Focus on curiosity directed toward tasks that align with current objectives and goals. Prioritize learning about topics relevant to your work and add interesting but nonurgent ideas to explore later. Second, apply intentional curiosity to problem solving. Take the time to understand the root causes of issues before jumping to solutions. By being intentionally curious, you can explore underlying problems thoroughly, leading to more effective and targeted solutions. Finally, use curiosity to improve work relationships. Slow down to observe and understand colleagues or employees. Use productive curiosity to empathize with others, identify potential challenges they may be facing, and find solutions that enhance working relationships. Curiosity can also be employed to identify and reduce personal stress by creatively exploring alternative solutions within the current job environment.

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