We came across a post on” 7 Traits of intellectually curious leaders” by Vivek Bapat and thought we would share it with you. Intellectual curiosity is loosely defined as curiosity that leads to an acquisition of general knowledge. It can include curiosity about such things as: what objects are composed of, the underlying mechanisms of systems, mathematical relationships, languages, social norms, and history.

Many of us lose this important trait we all possessed when we were children. Perhaps it was fear of failure or rebuke from a parent, a peer or a teacher, or simply growing up. It can be the natural cynicism associated with maturing and seeing the world as it is, rather than what it could be. It is a creative power we all have but don’t use very much. In the book Virtuous Minds written by Philip Dow, he explains how we can train ourselves to regain this trait.

He shares his unscientific take on 7 attributes of intellectually curious leaders based on his personal observations:

1. Intellectually curious leaders challenge the status-quo to help create new breakthroughs to break away from the malaise and inertia of navel-gazing and siloed thinking that plagues many organizations.
2. Intellectually curious leaders build high performing networks, not just teams. They inherently understand people and what motivates them better than most. They are empathetic, and draw out the best ideas from each individual. Rather than fit a person to predefined roles, they create roles around the unique strengths of each individual.
3. Intellectually curious leaders actively engage and seek to build careers of the people around them, not just for the people within their teams.
4. Intellectually curious leaders are risk-takers. They are entrepreneurial, but not rash. They promote experimentation, often testing the boundaries of possibilities without fear of failure. At the same time, they have short memories – they are quick to move on the next idea when something does not work.
5. Intellectually curious leaders ask the right questions to help cut through political fiefdoms or strongly held, legacy-driven points of view. They are outcome driven and shape winning perspectives.
6. Intellectually curious leaders promote openness of discourse. To them, a good idea is a good idea, regardless of where it comes from. A bad idea is a bad idea, regardless of where it comes from.
7. Intellectually curious leaders are effective at combining dreams with details. They are doers, not just thinkers.

Look forward to your thoughts!