{"id":27,"date":"2016-09-18T13:31:30","date_gmt":"2016-09-18T17:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roscelloassociates.com\/blog\/?p=27"},"modified":"2016-09-25T09:07:14","modified_gmt":"2016-09-25T13:07:14","slug":"creating-a-culture-of-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/roscelloassociates.com\/blog\/?p=27","title":{"rendered":"Curiosity, Inquiry and Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Children are born naturally curious.\u00a0 By asking questions they fuel this inquisitive quest to learn.\u00a0 Through questioning children form a bond with the adult world around them.\u00a0 Answers provide evidence to form their own understanding and opinion.\u00a0 Further questioning confirms, deepens or dispels the understanding and opinions formed.\u00a0 A child\u2019s capacity to question is boundless.\u00a0 Questions are continually bombarding parents and one never knows the next topic.\u00a0 There are so many questions to ask, so much understanding to gain, so much sense to be made and inter-connectivity to understand.\u00a0 This is a culture of inquiry.\u00a0 Where does the inquiry go?\u00a0 Why do children stop questioning?<\/p>\n

To establish a culture of inquiry at a community college there does not need a complicated plan.\u00a0\u00a0 Two elements are all that is necessary:\u00a0 questions and answers.\u00a0 Interconnectedness comes over time with gentle nudges, complete answers and opportunity. \u00a0Key elements and actions for leaders, especially the most senior administrators, to take to establish a culture of inquiry are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Create an open environment with time for dialogue, reflection, and sharing.<\/li>\n
  2. Listen, let people ask their questions, do not tell people what to ask, there are no dumb questions.<\/li>\n
  3. Answer the questions you can, don\u2019t make up answers, explore together.<\/li>\n
  4. You don\u2019t know best, stop reading here if you think this statement is wrong. Inquiry is learning, figuring things out, being open not dictatorial.\u00a0 You do not have all of the answers, you never will and leading means guiding.<\/li>\n
  5. Stop asking people to \u201csee the big picture,\u201d they will get there one information parcel at a time. \u00a0Their view is important, it might not be the aerial picture but minimizing viewpoints is bad, really bad.<\/li>\n
  6. 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\u2019s\u2019 skills.\u00a0 Who can put together a puzzle?, Who can ride a bicycle? Who can read? Now the real question, who can demonstrate their abilities?<\/li>\n
  7. Be visible and available. Offer opportunities for members of the organization to ask questions, offer alternative viewpoints and share successes.\u00a0 This means faculty, staff, students, and the community.<\/li>\n
  8. 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.\u00a0 Everyone will see right through forced support and will lose trust.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Creating a culture must be a priority to take hold.\u00a0 This involves time, uncomfortable conversations and a positive outlook. A parent does not answer the same question for the 10th<\/sup> time and think to themselves, \u201cmy child is an idiot\u201d or \u201cI give up, they will never understand.\u201d\u00a0 They explain it in a different way, they might use a diagram, a learning adventure, manipulatives, or break the concept down into smaller parcels.\u00a0 Parents keep explaining until the child understands. \u00a0\u00a0Children learn by doing, making mistakes, developing modifications and trying again.\u00a0 Let employees make mistakes and try again.<\/p>\n

    What are the common barriers that prevent us from using the model parents employ?\u00a0 Time.\u00a0 The answer is no more complicated than the fact that being inquisitive is not the number one priority.\u00a0 For most community college employees being inquisitive is probably not even in the top ten priorities.\u00a0 To create a culture of inquiry there must be significant time dedicated to inquiry and an unwavering place within the top three priorities.\u00a0 This dedication will mean removing or demoting other priorities.\u00a0 A close analysis of the benchmarks utilized is also necessary; are we measuring what we think we are measuring?\u00a0 Dowd (2005) highlights the problem by \u201canalyzing 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\u201d (p. 12).\u00a0 If time is dedicated to inquiry then the inquiry must tell us something.<\/p>\n

    One tangent barrier that also demands attention is depth of inquiry.\u00a0 Personal interest dictates the level at which an answer is acceptable.\u00a0 Think of our child.\u00a0 \u201cHow do fish breathe underwater?\u201d\u00a0 Some children will be satisfied with knowing they have gills; other children will need to understand oxygen exchange down to a cellular level.\u00a0 Both children are inquisitive and each has a personal satisfaction level for the response.\u00a0 These levels vary greatly from question to question.\u00a0 If we give both children the first answer, \u201cfish breath with gills,\u201d 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.\u00a0 Employees are no different, don\u2019t, over inform, let the employee drive the curiosity and inquiry.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Leadership must truly embrace inquiry themselves to project that energy within the organization.<\/p>\n

    Remember: Your followers are not curious and inquisitive until you create this culture.\u00a0 Create and cultivate with care, love and understanding.\u00a0 Positive actions come from a genuine desire to provide an outstanding education for our students.<\/p>\n

    B.F. Skinner states: The feeling of being interested can act as a kind of neurological signal, directing us to fruitful areas of inquiry.<\/p>\n

    Dowd, A. C. (2005). \u00a0Data don\u2019t 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<\/p>\n

    Garvin, D. A., Edmondson, A. C., Gino, F.\u00a0 (2008, March). Is yours a learning organization? \u00a0Harvard Business Review. <\/em>\u00a0Retrieved from https:\/\/hbr.org\/2008\/03\/is-yours-a-learning-organization<\/p>\n

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