Build trust. Encourage curiosity. And everyone wins.

I have two boys. Felix is 6. Leo is 4. I love being a parent with kids of these ages. We’re through the boring early years when it’s all take, no give, and the kid doesn’t really do anything. Their personalities are starting to shine through, as is their natural curiosity. 

They’re hungry to learn and to try new things. They’re always asking questions. And not just “why this?” or “why that?” questions anymore. We’ve moved onto questions about the planet, environment, natural world and science that I don’t know the answers to. (I miss the simple ones like “why don’t you have any hair, Daddy?”).

I’m fascinated by their curiosity. As I watched the boys play in our garden this weekend, my mind starting thinking about curiosity in the workplace. Or the lack of it. How does curiosity impact employee engagement, career development, leadership qualities, performance? And what role should corporate communication have in encouraging curiosity? 

On average, kids between the age of 2 and 10 ask 350 questions a day. If you have small children in your life, you won’t be surprised by this. But, as adults, with big, important, serious jobs and lives, we ask a mere 20 a day. 

Ok, I get that at 36 years old I know the answers to a lot of the basic questions that Felix or Leo ask… but 20 a day feels pathetic. So, I’ve started digging into about why people ask questions.

Curiosity

A state of active interest. We ask questions because we genuinely want to know more about something. Our curiosity and the learning process behind it is more than just something we do for fun. It’s a biological imperative that keeps our brains and bodies healthy. It’s our inbuild pursuit for knowledge, sense of purpose and feeling of being connected to something bigger than us. Essentially, as soon as we stop learning, we start dying. A scary thought!

So, if that’s the case, why do we stop asking questions and trying new things when we’re at work? Sorry. I’m looking at this the wrong way. Instead, how can we encourage employees to be more curious? And there are plenty of reasons to do so. Heightened curiosity leads to behavioural and performance wins:

• Greater analytic ability, problem-solving and overall intelligence
• Fewer decision-making errors
• More innovation and positive changes in both creative and non-creative jobs
• Reduced group conflict
• More-open communication and better team performance
• the list goes on…

If you want to fully geek out on the benefits of curiosity, then you should read this Harvard Business Review article.

Trust

My research led me to the fact that curiosity flourishes when we feel safe in our surroundings and there are strong levels of trust in the relationships we have. Who or where are we getting information from? Do we trust them? Do we trust their opinion? Do we trust that they have our needs and interests in mind?

“People only trust that which is very close to them”.

That’s how Richard Edelman, President and CEO of Edelman started his keynote speech about the findings from their 2019 Trust Barometer. Ah ha. So maybe, I thought, curiosity is low in the workplace because we don’t trust our employer.

Wrong. Richard continues...

“… and this year, trust has moved to the employer. A phenomenon born in the lack of belief in other institutions and deep dissatisfaction with the system”.

And he has stats to support the bold statements.

Their 2019 global trust barometer has “My Employer” at 75%. Which is high when compared to Business at 56%, Government at 48% and the Media at 47%. 

Whether by design or default, employees trust their employer more than they ever have. As a communicator, I believe this is the perfect time to demonstrate that this trust is deserved and to use the newfound levels of trust as an opportunity to create lasting emotional connections.

The component parts of how to build trust are well understood. But they infrequently show up in corporate communication. This is 101 stuff I know, but trust is built when we communicate:

1. Logic. Treat employees like adults. Respect them. Explain carefully and clearly what the company is planning, doing and the personal impact to employees in a way they’ll understand, relate to and can contribute to. People may not like your message about restructure, relocation, benefit cuts… but they’ll read through corporate BS and hate being treated like idiots more if you don’t articulate the rationale. 
2. Empathy. Communication needs to show that there is no ‘them’ and ‘us’. Find ways to listen intently to employees. Understand their perspective, their feelings, their needs. And do it regularly. Find ways to share, reflect, reinforce the feelings of your employees in how, what, when and why you communicate. To paraphrase a wonderful HRD I know, the role of corporate communication is to “humanize the heck out of everything I need to do”.
3. Authenticity. We live in a ‘fake news’ society, whether we like it or not. To counteract that, corporate communications need to be consistent and genuine with the words used and the stories shared. Share vulnerabilities, show weakness, ask for help. It’s ok. Employees don’t want leaders and their company to pretend they know all the answers – else there wouldn’t be a need for employees. Create a voice that captures the heart and soul of the company, and use a tone and messages that unites leaders and employees. Avoid corporate spin, never use unnecessarily long words to make yourself feel clever. Be open, honest and tell it straight.

I believe that communication has the ability to shape the future of organisational effectiveness by connecting with and influencing how people feel about work. When trust is high and curiosity is high, it is transformational for employees and employers.

Credit to Maree Burgess for this diagram. It’s beautifully simple and a powerful look at the effects that trust and curiosity have on engagement. I’m not sure exactly how I can weave it into my work – but I think it has a place in how to segment, measure and target messaging.

If you’re using this effectively in corporate communication (or know someone who is), please get in touch as I’d love to share experiences.