It's natural as human beings that we'll all judge a little. This isn't to shame the behavior. It's to bring light to the fact that there is magic in switching judgment to curiosity.
Scenario one: the client lunch
Say you and I are having a client lunch and I notice you keep checking your phone. I judge you and passive-aggressively say, “Well, I might as well have lunch by myself then.” How do you feel?
Scenario two: the slow day
Or we're at work. I think you're performing slowly today and point it out: “What's up with your work ethic today? It's like you were birthed from a snail this morning.” I don't know that you just had a terrible night's sleep because your dog passed away.
Now with curiosity
Imagine I approach the same moment differently: “Hey, I just wanted to check in to see if there's anything you need today. I may be off base here, but something seems off.”
Curiosity is the path to open communication and understanding.
That gives the other person the option to open up, or not. If they do, understanding is made, and then we can collaborate on how to move through it.
We're human beings, so not every day are we going to be at our own 100%. And what's 100% to you might be 80% to me, and vice versa, so we can't compare or judge. Curiosity is the path to open communication and understanding.
If your team is losing good people and you want to know why, start with a Culture Diagnostic.
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