Children are born naturally curious. By asking questions they fuel this inquisitive quest to learn. Through questioning children form a bond with the adult world around them. Answers provide evidence to form their own understanding and opinion. Further questioning confirms, deepens or dispels the understanding and opinions formed. A child’s capacity to question is boundless. Questions are continually bombarding parents and one never knows the next topic. There are so many questions to ask, so much understanding to gain, so much sense to be made and inter-connectivity to understand. This is a culture of inquiry. Where does the inquiry go? Why do children stop questioning?
To establish a culture of inquiry at a community college there does not need a complicated plan. Two elements are all that is necessary: questions and answers. Interconnectedness comes over time with gentle nudges, complete answers and opportunity. Key elements and actions for leaders, especially the most senior administrators, to take to establish a culture of inquiry are:
- Create an open environment with time for dialogue, reflection, and sharing.
- Listen, let people ask their questions, do not tell people what to ask, there are no dumb questions.
- Answer the questions you can, don’t make up answers, explore together.
- You don’t know best, stop reading here if you think this statement is wrong. Inquiry is learning, figuring things out, being open not dictatorial. You do not have all of the answers, you never will and leading means guiding.
- Stop asking people to “see the big picture,” they will get there one information parcel at a time. Their view is important, it might not be the aerial picture but minimizing viewpoints is bad, really bad.
- Facilitate the development of nimble performance measures in each unit that also allow for cross unit comparisons (Garvin, Edmondson & Gino, 2009, March). This is not complex think of a toddler play group and parents talking about their children’s’ skills. Who can put together a puzzle?, Who can ride a bicycle? Who can read? Now the real question, who can demonstrate their abilities?
- Be visible and available. Offer opportunities for members of the organization to ask questions, offer alternative viewpoints and share successes. This means faculty, staff, students, and the community.
- Let your direct reports speak from the heart. They should explain the thought that went into decision-making but not be forced to agree with the decision. Everyone will see right through forced support and will lose trust.
Creating a culture must be a priority to take hold. This involves time, uncomfortable conversations and a positive outlook. A parent does not answer the same question for the 10th time and think to themselves, “my child is an idiot” or “I give up, they will never understand.” They explain it in a different way, they might use a diagram, a learning adventure, manipulatives, or break the concept down into smaller parcels. Parents keep explaining until the child understands. Children learn by doing, making mistakes, developing modifications and trying again. Let employees make mistakes and try again.
What are the common barriers that prevent us from using the model parents employ? Time. The answer is no more complicated than the fact that being inquisitive is not the number one priority. For most community college employees being inquisitive is probably not even in the top ten priorities. To create a culture of inquiry there must be significant time dedicated to inquiry and an unwavering place within the top three priorities. This dedication will mean removing or demoting other priorities. A close analysis of the benchmarks utilized is also necessary; are we measuring what we think we are measuring? Dowd (2005) highlights the problem by “analyzing the effective use of available resources to optimal student outcome; the gross measure of inputs and outputs provide no information on actual resource use for instructional and administrative activities” (p. 12). If time is dedicated to inquiry then the inquiry must tell us something.
One tangent barrier that also demands attention is depth of inquiry. Personal interest dictates the level at which an answer is acceptable. Think of our child. “How do fish breathe underwater?” Some children will be satisfied with knowing they have gills; other children will need to understand oxygen exchange down to a cellular level. Both children are inquisitive and each has a personal satisfaction level for the response. These levels vary greatly from question to question. If we give both children the first answer, “fish breath with gills,” and they drive the level of inquiry with follow-up questions we do not risk getting glazed over looks when we give too much information. Employees are no different, don’t, over inform, let the employee drive the curiosity and inquiry. As Garvin, Edmondson and Gino (2008, March) state in Harvard Business Review is it the ability to create, acquire and transfer knowledge that makes an organization strong. Leadership must truly embrace inquiry themselves to project that energy within the organization.
Remember: Your followers are not curious and inquisitive until you create this culture. Create and cultivate with care, love and understanding. Positive actions come from a genuine desire to provide an outstanding education for our students.
B.F. Skinner states: The feeling of being interested can act as a kind of neurological signal, directing us to fruitful areas of inquiry.
Dowd, A. C. (2005). Data don’t drive: Building a practitioner-driven culture of inquiry to assess community college performance. Lumina Foundation for Education Research Report. Retrieved from https://www.luminafoundation.org/files/publications/datadontdrive2005.pdf
Garvin, D. A., Edmondson, A. C., Gino, F. (2008, March). Is yours a learning organization? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2008/03/is-yours-a-learning-organization