Humility and curiosity

This has a number of different aspects to it. First, at a very human level, if members of a collaboration make assumptions that, because of an area of expertise or worse, positional power, they need to ‘teach’ another member of a collaboration the ‘right’ answer, then that immediately creates a false hierarchy and disempowers whomever is of a lower ‘rank’—socially or organizationally. This starts a toxic cycle where one group’s opinions are held in higher regard and sets up parent/child relationships that further entrench the dynamic. It eliminates curiosity and makes it very difficult or impossible to create psychological safety where everyone’s knowledge, experience, assets, and strengths can be shared. It is worth noting this is not a disparagement of an expert opinion, simply the mode of operation it is shared in. An expert opinion, knowledge, and experience can always be shared in a spirit of curiosity that explores any differences with an open heart.

Second, humility and curiosity as the primary mode of operation allow space for learning. Whilst an individual may hold one source of experience, knowledge, and strengths, if humility and discovery are the primary modes of operation, the collective collaboration can hold many sources of experience, knowledge, and strengths. In this diversity lies the answer to the future.

Third, the environment created by humility and curiosity is inclusive. This becomes incredibly important when the dominant white British culture needs to welcome people from all backgrounds.