Just Curious

April 15, 2024?

Dear Leaders,?

Curiosity makes a leader, for they are always wondering, always seeking, always checking, always asking.? Never satisfied with the status quo or apparent success today, they poke and prod, looking for what’s missing, and asking what’s new or what’s next.? In applying curiosity to your leadership, you set yourself apart from the rest in fostering innovation and providing solutions and wisdom.?

King Sejong the Great (????; 世宗大王) ruled Korea in the Chosun Dynasty era from 1418-1452 and is a model of leadership beyond just being the ruling monarch.? He had a strong interest in the arts, sciences, economics, and especially, the general welfare of his people that set him apart in history.? His desire to discover more led to multiple advances and innovations, from a highly accurate astrolabe for measuring time and navigation to advanced weaponry in the first practical multiple launch rocket system.? He was far more egalitarian than many of the leaders of his time, opening the civil service to a larger group based on talent and ability more than just family connections, and providing relief for the populace in times of disaster. ?Impacting the nation and culture to this day was the creation of hangul, the Korean alphabet that was the first writing system developed scientifically rather than evolutionary and provided for widespread literacy among all classes.?

Curiosity is perhaps innate in some, for beyond being an incessantly chatty kid (Who would have thought?), I was insatiably curious about everything.? I read voraciously on a multitude of subjects, devouring an entire set of children’s encyclopedias, and leaving our weekly trips to the library with an armload of books.? When my family bought a set of World Book Encyclopedias, I would read them, thumbing through, and stopping on any entry that caught my interest to read about it.??

It wasn’t long before I developed a reputation as a walking knowledge base, and while some found this annoying, others found it useful, but what I found was that beyond the knowledge, I often had the magic key:? the solution.? Where others saw only problems, or missed something that I felt was obvious, I couldn’t understand why, and I started to speak up. ?Met with many a positive response, I became even less reserved about proffering answers, both requested and unsolicited.? (My LinkedIn colleagues know well of my lack of reservation in commentary.)??

As you would expect, not everyone was happy, for some saw a threat in bringing to light their inability, while others were blissful in their ignorance and didn’t want someone to provide what could be an unpleasant, yet necessary dose of reality.? The pushback was both figurative and occasionally literal, and it took a modicum of fortitude to deal with both, for in standing up for what you believe to be right, you develop the resolve to know when to hold your ground.?

Operating from a position of knowledge leads one to seek others who are likewise well-learned, and well-versed, and know how to use it.? Like Sejong, as I rose in leadership and responsibility, I sought for my team and among colleagues those who shared my quest for knowledge and solutions.? I was very fortune in my last position working for the US Government to have such a team, and when they came to me to note a problem and how they had already sent a solution to our headquarters, I knew I was where I wanted to be.??

Leaders know that the greatest benefit of accumulated knowledge is wisdom, for it is in the latter where the former transforms from mere existence into practice and reality.? All the accumulated knowledge in the world is useless without application, and this is where my penchant for having solutions and seeing that which others did not brought me a modicum of fame and reputation in that I started receiving requests for guidance and answers from all corners of the nation and the world.? When I would ask a new inquirer from whence they obtained my name, they would respond with the name of another person who said to contact me, as I not only knew the answer, I saw how it fit into the larger picture.? So ubiquitous it was in my own agency, I became known solely by my first name, and not being the only Tim, I received requests from people seeking a different Tim, but upon hearing “Ask Tim,” they reflexively called me.? Aside from directing them to the desired person, I often gave them an answer at no extra charge.?

A reputation for knowledge and wisdom, and the wherewithal to use it in leadership and direction will take you far.? You might not reach the highest levels, for a desire to lead in this manner often overrides a motivation to move into a loftier perch, but regardless of whether you do, you will succeed in leadership beyond merely getting the job done.??

History regards Sejong as Korea’s greatest monarch, and the impact of his dedication to seeking knowledge is ingrained in the culture through a strong education system and one of the world’s highest literacy rates.? Leaders whose desire to know more and impart it to others in deriving solutions and sharing knowledge and wisdom might not have statues built of them like he does, but they establish legacies that will long outlive their presence, for knowledge and wisdom is not a culmination, but a strain of yeast from which the new continues to grow from the original.? ??

Sincerely,

Tim