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Curiosity at Work

“Some people didn’t like me asking questions…” ~ Helen Chamberlin

I first got interested in curiosity as a management tool in my role as chief operating officer at NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), a national grassroots nonprofit organization. NAMI had about 80 employees and nearly 1,000 mostly volunteer-led affiliates  when I was there — and it was basically my job to know everything. 

But I became convinced I was better at my role if I didn’t know everything, and came at the work with curiosity instead. 

So I made myself a student of the subject. I’ve been studying it ever since…

Do others in comparable roles feel the same way, I wondered? What lessons have they learned? 

Helen Chamberlin is executive director of the Rehoboth Beach FIlm Society, in Rehoboth Beach, DE. She joins me to consider curiosity at work…

Listen to Choose to be Curious #199: Curiosity at Work, with Helen Chamberlin

Check out the Rehoboth Beach FIlm Society and the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival.

Theme music by Sean Balick. “Jog to the Water” by Duck Lake, via Blue Dot Sessions

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Wear your curiosity on your sleeve. Check out the Choose to be Curious shop!

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