Meeting the moment with curiosity

Like many leaders, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what kind of leadership is needed at this moment in time. After over two years in a pandemic, a horrific cadence of racist violence and rhetoric, and workforce upheavals that have people in many quarters questioning what the future of work will look like, I seem to be constantly asking myself, “How can we help our teams navigate and thrive, in service to both their humanity and to the missions we collectively pursue?”

The answer, I think —?or, at least, an answer — lies in cultivating curiosity: In ourselves, and in the organizational cultures we lead.?

Accepting that data can’t tell us everything

For all the data and media coming our way about the so-called Great Resignation (or is it the Great Reshuffling? The Great Rethink?), as well as the 21st-century workplace shifts that are underway, there’s so much we really don’t know about how people are feeling right now. We could read every single article published about the state of the workforce and, still, it wouldn’t tell us everything about how human beings are responding in this moment.?

I’m reminded of a lesson I learned in earlier work on women’s health and family planning. Doctors and providers often assume a woman will always want to use the most effective contraceptive method, full stop. But so many factors go into a woman’s choice of contraception: convenience, side effects, cost, insurance coverage (or lack thereof), accessibility, concealability and much more. As a movement, we were and are missing the point if we think efficacy, as scientifically defined, is the only metric.?

The complexity of a woman’s life is at the heart of her decision-making, and she herself might not even recognize and acknowledge all the influences and layers. This perspective on preference and suitability can be difficult to integrate, when the “black and white” answer of effectiveness is measurable and clear, with data and science to back it up. But for too long, women’s lived experience has been demoted or altogether ignored as a data point in its own right — as the data point, to be honest.

Steering through complexity?

Our responsibility as leaders is to hold space for such complexity, and to bring curiosity and query to bear as navigational tools. We need to accept when things aren’t black and white, and to lead through the gray. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we can be and feel all the things, all the time. That’s not neat, maybe, but it’s the truth.

Which brings us to the “return to the office” and the topic on so many of our minds right now, which is how best to co-create our new normal. If we accept that we will never be all-knowing about why people do or do not do things, how they’re feeling, what this moment in time “means” —?then what do we do to create the best experience for our workforce? One that serves people across cultures and generations, in ways that bring both parity and equity to those living in different circumstances??

What is the courageous way forward??

Again, I believe the answer lies in curiosity.

Leading with questions

In some ways, curiosity is a natural stance for leaders, as so much of our work is organized around questions —?about what’s right, what’s next, what’s most important, who needs to be consulted and informed and when, and more. One question I’ve been exploring as a leader in my first two years as CEO at Malala Fund: “How do I build and support a feedback-driven culture?” In other words, how do I encourage my colleagues to be curious about their co-workers’ feedback? And how do we train managers to give feedback that can be heard, assessed, and integrated as appropriate?

The short answer? By modeling the curiosity we seek to cultivate in others. By inviting feedback and debate — even about our own behaviors and style. Every six months at Malala Fund, we undertake an organization-wide Performance & Development check-in which, among other things, invites employees to share feedback on their manager: What is working about the management relationship? Is it working well, and what could your manager do differently/better to help you excel or thrive??

After the first round of reviews I led, I aggregated people’s responses into an anonymized summary that I shared with the leadership team, from the positive feedback (easy!), to the value neutral (also easy!), to the constructive, room-for-growth areas (not as easy!). I refer back to these summaries throughout the year, and I summon curiosity: Have I made progress in areas where I was struggling? Am I still embodying the values that I expect my colleagues to lean into?

Replacing judgment with curiosity

I was recently reminded of a pearl of wisdom from “Ted Lasso” (if you haven’t watched this show, I highly recommend it — and Malala loves it, too). The wisdom actually comes from Walt Whitman, but Ted references it at the end of a scene where someone loses big-time after grossly underestimating him: “Be curious, not judgmental.”

Curiosity means not underestimating each other. It means being curious about each other’s choices, rather than judging them or using them as opportunities to further solidify pre-existing positions. It’s also an invaluable tool for young, up-and-coming leaders, for getting exposure to different areas of an organization. Like many senior leaders, I am most impressed by staff who care about the whole institution?— you are expected to excel in your lane, yes, and you should also bring curiosity about “the whole.” You exhibit compassionate curiosity about yourself, about others in the organization, and about the mission.??

Putting humanity at the center

Some might interpret questioning as weakness. Aren’t leaders supposed to have all the answers, after all? Sure, sometimes. But to arrive at those answers —?the good ones, the right ones, the ones with integrity —?we need, first, to get curious. We need to listen to what other people have to say, from our staff to our boards to partners. We even need to listen to our detractors. And we need to listen with a true desire to learn.

Despite our deep desire for clarity, if we are honest with ourselves, the truth is: we will always have more questions than answers. Curiosity is the key to living in ambiguity, because it reminds us that we are always learning —?that life is a series of choices, followed by learning, followed by more choices. That is the best we can do, and when we do it wholeheartedly, we create organizations, and communities, with integrity, that put humanity at the center.?

And that, after all, is what this moment, and every moment, requires.

Suzanne Ehlers serves as CEO of Malala Fund. She brings curiosity, agility and strategic optimism to the transformation, scaling and growth of mission-driven enterprises.