Most of the greatest discoveries and amazing inventions throughout history are the result of curiosity, the impulse to seek new information , experience and explore new possibilities is a basic human attribute.

When related to business, curiosity seems to be important for the enterprise’s performance because cultivating curiosity at all levels helps leaders and their team adapt to uncertain market conditions.

When curiosity is triggered, we think and reflect more deeply and can come up with more creative solutions. Curiosity is also a tool to gain respect from your followers and inspire employees to develop more trust and collaborative relationships with peers.

Curiosity can improve the performance of your company

Curiosity allows us to look for alternatives and avoid falling into stereotypes make quick judgments and at the end potential bad decision. Curiosity also leads to changing perspectives and push you to innovate. Being too busy does not allow us to think and reflect although this is essential when it comes to assess and develop your corporate strategy.

What about putting yourself in one another’s shoes and take interest in one another’s activities and ideas? This allows to take some perspective and distance. Being curious after all push you to collaborate, ask questions and have a better opportunity to share best practices and learn to listen carefully.

How can you make sure you are encouraging curiosity among your team?

Many researches agree that curiosity is a major influencer and indicator of success. Curiosity prepare our brain for learning new things, open us up to new personal growth opportunities and even help us find more meaning in life. However it is not always easy to embrace curiosity and put it into practice.

There is a couple of ways to build curiosity into your work place and emphasized it on daily conversations, meetings and projects. Below a couple of tips:

1. Empower workers at all levels
Give ownership and let your employees fight for their ideas. Reward those who speak up, you may listen to new voices in your company and get a chance to welcome new fresh ideas

2. Maintain a creative mindset you need to break the routine
Go outside the office remember the work hard play hard has an important role to play in your team performance.

3. Expose your team to many different ideas as possible through cross-team communication
Open your office, allow your people to interact with one another. Allow your team to interact with colleagues they are not usually in contact with. Bring together offices from around the world to get together once in a while.

Dare to do it and you may win big. Curiosity gives us a valuable lesson, enjoy and embrace it. However,make sure you switch the mindset among your employees and you help them to go from giving good answers to asking good questions. Starting with the Why? is always a good start.

This article was first published by Lausanne Hospitality Consulting.