The Power of Staying Curious
Last week, I stopped by a local Chick-fil-A to grab a bite to eat.
The dining area was mostly empty, except for a manager sitting across from a bright-eyed teenager who seemed to be interviewing for his first job.
As I sat down to enjoy my meal, I couldn't help but overhear some of the typical interview rhetoric.
I was hoping to gain a few “nuggets” of insight from the Chick-fil-A interview process.
While most of the interview was pretty standard, it was the last question that was worth the eavesdropping.
The manager asked: “What questions do you have for me?”
It wasn’t the question that impressed me—it was the manager's patience.
He let the young applicant move from “I don’t really have any questions” to “Well, I was curious about...”.
Not only did the applicant model curiosity in his later questions, but the manager also did a good job of providing space for the applicant to give some thought to his questions.
Here are the three “nuggets” I took away from that morning:
> Stay curious.
> Be prepared to ask good questions.
> Provide space for others’ curiosity and wonder (check out The 6 Working Geniuses for more on the genius of wonder!).
I left before the interview was over, but I have a feeling that young applicant is probably saying “My Pleasure” behind the Chick-fil-A counter this week.