If your goal is innovation, start by nurturing curiosity
Organizations large and small are sharpening their creative problem solving skills to address unprecedented challenges. For some, innovation is a necessity for business to survive. It is no surprise to hear that the pressure put on teams to innovate can also lead to greater anxiety and fear that instead lowers engagement in creative problem solving.
Helping team members find unique solutions or deliver on innovation goals starts by encouraging curiosity. The trait drives creative thinking and fuels innovative companies, but how much do we understand it? More importantly, how do we nurture it in ourselves and others?
Have you ever heard someone say they’re just not a naturally curious person? Well, scientists are proving that to be biologically untrue. Research from the last decade suggests a promising link between the Drd4 gene and the curiosity trait (novelty-seeking). Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology tested the exploratory behavior in given conditions and saw a significant difference in birds with Drd4. This “curiosity gene” is also responsible for creating receptors for the neurotransmitter dopamine which is associated with reward-motivated behavior.
Psychologists also agree that all people exhibit curiosity, but anxiety and fear of external responses stifle it. This is an interesting counterpoint to our biology which seems to reward novelty-seeking. You can look at curiosity as the urge that draws us out of our comfort zone and fear as the agent that keeps us within its boundaries and counter to our true nature. Curiosity is both biological and psychological, meaning that humans naturally exhibit some level of curiosity but it can also be nurtured to improve creative thinking skills.
What can be done to nurture curiosity?
Make an effort to collect lots of dots. Creative thinking is fueled by dots—bits of information that can serve as inspiration or be connected to realize new solutions. The key is to expand your world of dots so expose yourself to different sources. Inputs from different industries, resources, and viewpoints or experiences is critical. Einstein, Jobs, and other great innovators cite this practice as a key routine. You may be surprised to discover what just reading a magazine from a different industry can spark.
Embrace ambiguity. Increase your ability to see opportunity by practicing being comfortable with ambiguity.
Allow the tension that occurs when you recognize a gap in logic or information and avoid jumping to an assumption and instead ponder the possibilities. It will help you build a more flexible mind muscle.
Practice questioning. This may seem obvious but it is a critical function for higher level creative thinking. No one wants to look uninformed so allowing yourself to ask questions can be surprisingly difficult. What are the right questions? How do you elicit the kind of meaty, thought-provoking nuggets to consider and explore? Taking notes from renown innovators, I’ve defined three territories to jump-start your journey into inquisitiveness:
Questioning purpose can be used to mine areas that affect an organization’s mission and vision as well as practical subjects such as your product and services.
Questioning value can unlock new revenue streams, new audiences, new uses or features, and lead to unexpected opportunities for innovation.
Questioning process is a great visualization exercise and there is no better place to start than with the systems and processes you engage in every working day. Mapping out a known process can prove to be enlightening and reveal opportunities while visualizing the steps in an unfamiliar scenario forces discovery.
For more guidance on improving creative thinking, review the Five Drivers of Creative Culture.