Navigating the Path to Openness and a Learning Mindset
When was the last time you tried something new and what was it?
This is how we started our session on ‘Openness and a Learning Mindset’ one of the skills in ‘Being’, the first dimension of the Inner Development Goals (IDG), ‘a non-profit, open-source initiative?committed to fostering?inner development towards more sustainable futures’.? Answers varied from learning how to swim to introducing a new habit every month, taking public transport to get into town, and sushi making. It was a rapid-fire icebreaker, and it established the first common thread: trying something new was not merely about the novelty factor, but about expanding horizons, challenging comfort zones, and embracing the – often feared – unknown.
Beyond that, another theme that quickly emerged was about ‘reigniting the flame’, trying new things to reconnect with long forgotten passions. Many of us find ourselves stuck in a cycle of monotony, where each day blends into the next; we become complacent, settling for the familiar rather than venturing into the new. It is easy to get caught up in the routines and demands of work and family, leaving little time and energy to pursue the things that truly awaken our souls. Trying new things, whether revising hobbies from previous phases of our lives or exploring entirely new realms of interest, can help us avoid the ‘stagnation trap’ and bring us closer to reclaiming our most authentic selves.
Leading with Curiosity
How do you manage to stay curious?
‘I wake up’ was one of the answers! While it made me laugh, it brought to life the fact that at its core, curiosity is not merely a trait but a mindset—a willingness to question, explore, and actively engage with the world around us. We all recognized the importance of asking questions and active listening as indispensable tools for nurturing curiosity.
I have always believed in the power of inquiry as being fundamental to human interaction. Questions – and questioning – have helped me to cultivate a sense of wonder, create a gateway to understanding, and kept me on a journey of discovery. Yet, depending on the country and culture that I have found myself in, the art of asking questions has taken on a different significance, shaped by local traditions, etiquette, and social norms. This has been at the forefront of my mind for me since moving to Japan as I have started to uncover the cultural sensitivities and nuances of questioning in Japanese society. Questions are intended to elicit information indirectly or to gauge intentions without causing offense. I have had to re-learn to frame questions in a more implicit manner to preserve harmony and avoid causing discomfort. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I have cracked this one yet, and I’m constantly balancing daring to question with suspending judgement and fostering dialogue.
The other side of the coin, active listening, means shifting from wanting to be the most interesting person in the room to being the most interested one. It is first and foremost about being present (avoiding potential interruptions, from technology or from people) and making the other person feel heard and validated. We found that this was particularly important when interacting across different cultures, where language might be a challenge, and non-verbal communication might tell us more than a thousand words (if you allow me a twist to the adage). In Japanese communication, much is left unsaid, requiring Ba no Kuuki wo Yomu (lit. to read the air; ‘sensing someone’s feelings’) and inferring meaning from context and subtle cues. While this is second nature to people born in that culture, it is not as straight forward if you are an outsider. Playing back what people have said or paraphrasing their words to ensure mutual understanding is one of the strategies that I have employed to seek clarification and, ultimately, clarity. ?In this respect finding new ways to express my curiosity has gone beyond being a personal quality and has become a strategic imperative to become more effective at what I do.
Feedback as an Act of Courage
Do you ask for feedback? And who do you go to for honest and constructive feedback?
When it comes to personal and professional growth, feedback is our guide toward improvement and serves as a cornerstone for development. We talked about strategies for soliciting it effectively, dealing with emotions, and the importance of providing feedback.
Seeking effective feedback from a diverse range of perspectives - colleagues, mentors, friends, and even critics - offers valuable insights. It’s easy to tick the box of a transactional, once-a-year effort during a performance appraisal or ask the odd question to the people around us, but being clear about what aspect of our performance or behavior we want to improve is the to making that feedback more actionable.
The process of asking for and accepting feedback can often be fraught with emotions. Asking for feedback requires an act of courage that can put us in a vulnerable place. Separating feedback and how we feel about it is not easy, and the fine line between taking it seriously and taking it personally, a challenging one. Being in an environment that is still relatively new to me, I try to evaluate feedback in context, and yes, read between the lines! Is the intent behind it genuine? Is it offered constructively? Will it help me improve? If the answer to these questions is yes, then there is merit in what is being said and it’s beneficial to take a step back and consider what really matters and what is worth investing our energy in. Finally, we discussed the fact that sometimes feedback might come from someone that we don't fully trust or respect, but may still contain valuable insights worth considering. This is a tricky area, and we agreed that looking for patterns in the feedback we receive from a broader group of people and paying attention to similar critiques would help to view it in more objectively. A final thought was to use our discretion to determine whether feedback helps us move towards our goals, aligns with our values, and is in our best interests.
We also considered the impact of not providing feedback, with regards to responding to new ideas. In this example, if feedback is scarce, ideas can disappear, and as teams we risk lethargy and eventual obsolescence in an ever-evolving landscape. This was a key take away for me as a leader. It made me think about the responsibility that we have to stay tuned in and ensure that we nurture a feedback-rich environment, where ideas flourish, relationships thrive, and striving for excellence becomes the willingness to give new ideas the benefits of the doubt.
A Wayfinding Journey
In a world where personal growth is as essential as professional achievement, embracing openness and cultivating a learning mindset has become paramount. By nurturing these skills, we can empower ourselves to navigate life’s twists and turns with grace and resilience.
There is no magic wand because the journey is a personal one.
It is more about setting out with an openness to whatever we might encounter. Diverse strategies and approaches will work for different people and across a variety of cultures, contexts, and circumstances. However, there is a red thread in our respective wayfinding journeys: daring to question the status quo, our own habits and world views; seizing opportunities to learn with an open heart and a curious mind; and asking for and welcoming feedback to continue to move forward with intention. ?
There is no magic wand, but the magic lies in the journey itself!
Call to action.
We followed up our session with some ideas to keep the conversation going as a team and at an individual level. Here’s something that you can draw on to play with this topic if you are up for trying something new. Let me know how you get on!
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Special thanks to: Tamara Keserovic , Pedro Camacho , Margarita Orlov , Lalitha Ram , Alexander Foster , Carla Leighton , Sandra Jones , Sayaka Gohda , J Mytheen , Victoria Lamothe , Lukas Behrens
Global Social Media Marketing Strategy @ Fujitsu
6 个月I must confess that in the past, when I received "less than favorable" feedback from my peers, I felt incompetent and believed I was not enough in my work. However, I realized that the issue was not with my work, but rather with how I was communicating it. I've learned that we all have different ways of communication and different cultures will have different ways of doing it! As you mentioned - clear communication, active listening, receive/provide feedback - are all crucial in helping us become the best versions of ourselves. Not only they contribute to our professional development, but, they also help us in our personal growth and relationships with the people we love around us ?? Thank you for sharing this, Laura!
Marketing Leader | Senior Manager, Business Applications Marketing
6 个月What a wonderful summary of a wonderful session! I am truly amazed by the trust and openness amongst the group - it's a privilege to have such unfiltered conversations that hit at a personal level, and to have such a diverse range of cultural views and experiences in the room. Thank you for hosting, and for giving us the opportunity!