Grant Shirk doesn’t believe there’s one single solution for inspiring curiosity in the workplace.
At Cisco Meraki, where Shirk serves as head of product marketing, curiosity is cultivated across the company’s culture, from the ways in which leaders engage in conversations with employees to the approach managers take during the hiring process. It’s even reflected in one of the team’s core values — “Care Deeply” — which urges employees to understand their customers, partners, products and colleagues a little bit more each day.
Shirk considers it his duty as a leader to encourage his team members to seek understanding — and recently, this empowerment paid off. When his team worked on a case study with Ottawa University in Kansas, the content lead’s excitement about the subject placed her in a position to redefine the company’s overall approach to customer storytelling.
Evidently, leaders play a large role in fostering curiosity — and growth — among their colleagues. As the director of customer service at Zoro, Christopher Bryant does this by “thinking out loud” and creating space for his team to have open discussions.
Bryant aims to foster inquisitiveness in ways that bring teammates together, ensuring everyone plays a part in driving impact.
“We’re a team, so let’s arrive at the best decision together,” he said.
Built In Chicago caught up with Shirk and Bryant to learn how both leaders spark curiosity on their teams.
Cisco Meraki’s cloud networking platform is designed to help businesses manage every aspect of their IT operations.
How have you created a culture of curiosity on your team, and how do you model this mindset as a leader?
I believe a product marketer’s core skill is curiosity. It’s more important than writing, product expertise, public speaking and other traits associated with the role. To foster a culture of curiosity, we start by seeking it out in our hiring process. We look for candidates who not only ask good questions but pursue a persistent thread of inquiry. Being asked, “Why did you take that approach?” or “When did you realize you needed to hire someone for this role?” or “Tell me more about that!” are great indicators of curiosity.
Beyond that first interaction, I find curiosity thrives on encouragement. As a leader and a teammate, you have to invite inquiry. Lead with questions, give others the opportunity to ask and learn and bring new ideas and information into a one-on-one discussion. If you’re curious about others, they’ll be curious in return.
An organization can also embed curiosity into the culture. One of our core values is “Care Deeply,” which drives us to understand our customers, partners, products and colleagues more every day. When you experience curiosity regularly, it’s hard not to dig deeper yourself.
When you experience curiosity regularly, it’s hard not to dig deeper yourself.”
What are some things you do to inspire curiosity on your team?
There’s no single activity that can inspire curiosity. We develop sincere interest across teams by making our value, “Care Deeply,” an integral part of regular assessments and one-on-one conversations. When people see how critical a deeper understanding of the world is for leadership, execution and customer success, they start investing in curiosity — consciously and subconsciously.
Our executive leadership team models this as well. Leaders regularly start conversations with deeper questions about what the team is excited about and what new opportunities they’ve come across. Leaders also share their curiosity by openly discussing new things they’ve learned from customers and partners. Knowledge-sharing isn’t only rewarded and appreciated but is a key driver in the success of our business.
Tell us about a time when a team member’s curiosity led to personal growth.
One of my favorite recent stories about caring deeply and investing in curiosity is a cross-functional one. We were working with our content and customer stories team on a case study with Ottawa University in Kansas. The content lead was very interested in both the details of the story — converting a 100-year-old theater into a modern esports arena — and the complexity of the networking challenge. She dug deeper into the customer’s excitement, challenges and the opportunities ahead. As a result, she’s now one of our most knowledgeable wireless colleagues and is leading the charge on improving our customer storytelling overall.
Zoro’s marketplace offers businesses access to a wide range of supplies and products.
How have you created a culture of curiosity on your team, and how do you model this mindset as a leader?
In order to create a culture of curiosity, you have to be curious yourself. This thought process has worked for me in various leadership capacities. I model this by being very inquisitive and “thinking out loud” with my direct reports. My goal is to create space for us to have a conversation, which lets them know that most things are open to questions and feedback.
In order to create a culture of curiosity, you have to be curious yourself.”
What are some things you do to inspire curiosity on your team?
I utilize multiple techniques to inspire curiosity, which includes soliciting as much feedback as possible, hosting roundtable discussions and providing opportunities for rewards. We also have a culture that is very open to trying new things, which fosters curious thinking. For example, we have an upcoming all-hands department meeting, and I offered a reward to the team or teams that showed the most improved performance in one particular metric. By letting them figure out how to achieve that goal, I inspired and motivated them to be curious about solving problems.
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