continuous improvement & curiosity

Researchers who’ve studied more than 6,000 kindergartners found that the kids rated by their parents as more curious and willing to try new things performed better on math and reading assessments at school.

Researchers have isolated what may be the single most important trait that makes kids successful in school

The kids’ reading and math scores were consistently better the more curious they were. That was true even when the students weren’t very good at a self-control measure called “effortful control,” which tracks how attentive and persistent students are when completing tasks. The findings suggest that while traits like paying attention, controlling impulses, and delaying gratification may be important for young learners, being curious might matter more when it comes to learning new things. Read the full Business Insider Article by clicking here. The OUTNR. community has build on this concept, see the members chat below:

Jan Willem de Vries consultant 

I think at all ages curiosity is the single most important trait to be fit for the future. No skill can beat that foundational trait. Any ideas on how to foster or stimulate curiosity amongst people who are less naturally prone to cultivate this trait?

Joost d’Hooghe international business

 A good way to cultivate curiosity is to engage with people outside your “regular” circles. Switch of your phone and have a real conversation.

Mark Stoutjesdijkentrepreneur

I think curiosity is strongly linked to a kid’s intrinsic motivation. Which is of course much more effective than all these extrinsic motivators we tend to use, such as a gift for a good report card or extra screen time for kids. But this applies to adults as well and we try to foster curiosity in *all* our team members, not just the doctors or specialist nurses.

Joost d’Hooghe

Mark, how do you foster curiosity in these medical teams, any practical tips that we could transfer to other industries?

Mark Stoutjesdijk Perhaps the most important we try to do this is by underlining that it’s the team that defines the results. Failures as well as triumphs are reviewed as much as possible by the entire team. Because of the common responsibility, many team members actively search for ways to improve. I think that is very valuable and definitely not a given, even in medicine.

Another way we do this is by involving our members with the job of others. For example, I’m a radiologist, and I have frequent discussions about diseases that go beyond what a tech needs to know to do her/his job, but they like it a lot and it motivates them to learn more and get better at their own work. It’s time well spent. It works the other way around as well, of course.

“I’d say that curiosity goes hand in hand with a continuous improvement culture. Not sure if curiosity is the driver or the result…”