Curiosity

The Curiosity area of the McLean Loop of Leadership Agility is where we start to reach out beyond our usual spots for finding out information and take a wider, open interest in the situation we are facing.

A drawing of the loop, with two characters standing at curiosity

The Curiosity area of the McLean Loop of Leadership Agility

Tools

The types of tools that can be useful when operating in the Curiosity area include:

  • User research tools

    • Contextual enquiry

    • Focus groups

    • Interviews

  • Stakeholder Mapping

  • Customer Journey Mapping

  • Empathy Mapping

  • Service Blueprints

Questions

The following questions might be useful when reflecting on how you are getting on moving through the Curiosity area:

  • Who might know something about this that I don’t?

    • Who’s voice isn’t here?

    • What might they be thinking or feeling?

  • Have I given those around me a licence to be curious too?

  • What am I hoping to hear?

    • How can I be open to alternative views?

  • What biases do I hold?

  • What is my motivation?

It’s really important that we approach the Curiosity area with open ness. Curiosity gives us freedom from our judgements, speculations and assumptions. It can, however, be scary. Asking questions of others can make us feel as though we aren’t good enough and we don’t know enough, those who ask questions can be viewed as incompetent or trouble makers.

Asking good questions of others is really important in this area. Good questions are:

  • Worded so they are open-ended, noncombative, concise and creative

  • Asked with an open heart, mind and body language

  • Phrased as invitations, e.g. ‘I’m curious about…’, ‘Help me understand…’, ‘I wonder if…’

Kelly Ann McKercher, Beyond Sticky Notes

The Curiosity phase can be confusing as we uncover things we didn’t know before or didn’t think were possible.

It is important that we are kind to ourselves as we navigate through these things - it can become overwhelming really easily.

Unlearn

One of the most crucial things when we are exposed to so much new information is to be aware of the things we need to unlearn. This is key to leave space in our brains for new possibilities and better ways of doing things.

We easily get trapped believing the things that helped us yesterday will also help us today. But the more you notice what isn’t serving you anymore and let it go, the better you get at it. This comes with practice, self awareness and reflection.

Moving on

Once you feel you are in a place where you can start to bring people together to help solve a problem, you can move forward to the Connect area of the loop.

Key References

The following books have some great insights when it comes to being curious and gathering data.

Beyond Sticky Notes: Doing Co-design for Real: Mindsets, methods and movements - Kelly Ann McKercher

Asking the right questions during user research, interviews and testing

Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking, Matthew Syed