Curiosity is experiencing a “Gold Rush” moment. Books, university classes, and research are popularizing the power of curiosity.
Research: 83% of Executives Say They Encourage Curiosity. Just 52% of Employees Agree.
Curiosity is incredibly important for organizations, yet leaders assume—mistakenly for the most part—that their employees feel empowered to be curious. They see few barriers themselves to asking questions and assume the same is true for their employees. But employees describe a very different reality. 83% of C-level or president-level executives say curiosity is encouraged “a great deal” or “a good amount” at their company. Just 52% of individual contributors say the same. This gap seems to be driven in part by perceptions of the value of curiosity. While about half (49%) of the C-level believes curiosity is rewarded by salary growth, only 16% of individual contributors agree. A staggering 81% of individual contributors are convinced curiosity makes no material difference in their compensation.