Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt - Intellectual Curiousity and Leadership

1. INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY
&
LEADERSHIP
Presented by:
Lillie M. Hibbler, Ph.D.
University of Phoenix, Jersey City, NJ, USA
Campus College Chair School of Business
Research Fellow, School of Advanced Studies

2. SESSION OUTLINE
Introduction to the topic
The Goal of Education
Workplace Skills
Intellectual Curiosity and Leadership
Thinking Minds
Conclusion
Questions/Discussion
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

3. It’s Time to Talk
Exercise 1 (Group)
Why do we teach?
What’s happening in our classrooms?
What’s the purpose of education?
Are we hitting the mark?
What are the missing pieces?
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

4. Education Should:
According to Baehr (2013) education should
aim to foster:
Curiosity
Open-mindedness
Attentiveness
Intellectual carefulness
Intellectual courage
Intellectual rigor
Intellectual honesty
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

5. Education Should
 Extend knowledge application
 Be committed to the life of the mind
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

6. Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun
SKILLS NEEDED IN THE
WORKPLACE

7. SKILLS SOUGHT BY TOP RECRUITING
FIRMS FOR 2017
COLLABORATION
COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS
CREATIVITY
INTELLECTUAL ENERGY(CURRIOSITY)
CRITICAL THINKING
ECONOMIC KNOWLEDGE
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

8. TOP 5 PERSONALITY TRAITS EMPLOYERS
HIRE MOST:
PROFESSIONALISM 86%
HIGH-ENERGY 78%
CONFIDENCE 61%
SELF-MONITORING 58%
INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY 57%
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

9. Why did curiosity kill
the cat? What did the
cat do wrong?
What is intellectual
curiosity?
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

10. CURIOSITY IS THERE…….SOMEWHERE
HUMAN BEINGS ARE PROGRAMMED TO BE
CURIOUS
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

11. Intellectual Curiosity Defined
It’s the characteristic ability to question,
challenge, look at an issue from multiple
perspectives, seek more information before
rushing to judgment, raise questions, deliberate,
and craft well- reasoned arguments (Maki, 2002).
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

12. WHAT HAPPENED………
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

13. WHAT HAPPENED?
Fear of looking unintelligent or ignorant
Mocked in school
Ignored
Bullied
Not challenged
Life struggles
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

14. WHAT’S NEEDED
Colleges and universities must reignite the spirit
of curiosity in our students
Curiosity in the workplace fosters innovation and
change
A curios leader have greater retention on
employees and adds to the profitability of the
organization.
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

15. Exercise 2
WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEADER?
1. Select you favorite manager or person in a management
position (President of the US, president of an organization, or
any other person in a leadership role).
2. What made you select him/her?
3. What characteristics do they exhibit?
4. What makes them standout as an exemplary leader?
5. What do you think you need to do to be more like him/her?
6. Are we fostering these skills in our students?
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

16. Exemplary Leadership
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

17. The 7 Traits of Intellectually Curious
Leaders
1. Challenge the status quo
 Push for examples of the extraordinary
 Reject the mundane
 Appreciate the varied
 Push for creativity
Get outside of the box
Incorporate exercises that force creativity
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

18. The 7 Traits of Intellectually Curious
Leaders
2. They build high performing networks, not teams
 Use networks to accomplish assignments in the classroom
 Use different groups for different assignments
 Draw out individual strengths
 Create roles for each individual based upon strength
3. They seek to build careers of the people around them
 Have students encourage each other
 Exercise on group support
 Discussions on how to incentivize others
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

19. The 7 Traits of Intellectually Curious
Leaders
4. They are risk takers
 Entrepreneurs
 Not rash
 Promote experimentation
 Test the boundaries of possibility without fear
5. They ask the right questions
 They cut through politics
 And Legacy driven points of view
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

20. 6. They promote openness of discourse
 A good idea is a good idea
 A bad idea is a bad idea
 No matter where they come from
7. They are effective at combining dreams with details
 They are doers not just thinkers
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun
The 7 Traits of Intellectually Curious
Leaders

21. THINKING MINDS
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

22. Bringing Intellectual Curiosity into the
Classroom
Education: rigorous,
Demanding, stretch
Student thinking,
provide more than
a short term grasp
of concepts
Intellectual
curiosity
Education: Should be
Personal, attentive,
care for who students are
and hope to become
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

23. Help Students to Know Themselves
 Students are disengaged, disillusioned due to life circumstances and
experiences that prevent them from actively engaging in learning.
 They are critically illiterate; although they have access to a lot of
information, yet they don’t know how to manage it.
 We must equip them with the skills to survive to:
 Think critically
 Develop a sense of identity
 To have confidence in their own potential
(Source: Bathina, 2013)
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

24. Course Material
 Subject matter should have structural complexity and
rigor:
 Understanding requires:
 Effort
 Reflection
 Concentration
 Persistence
 Application to life
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

25. Curiosity Requires
 Observing
 Defining
 Amassing
 Acquiring
 Selecting
 Omitting
 Creating
 Presenting
 Assessment of the material or
Object being considers
Developing intellectual
curiosity takes time!
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

26. FACULTY MUST BE:
 Approachable
 Creative thinkers
 Energetic
 Include experiences
 Ask questions:
Why?
How?
What if?
How about?
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

27. The Classroom/Setting
Comfortable
Non-traditional
Open
Current (Technology must be incorporated)
Resources available to facilitate learning
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

28. BRING THE WORLD INTO THE CLASS
Include facts
and statistics
Value diversity
Promote change
Seek the greater
good
Life application
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

29. Changing the Class
 Take time to investigate an issue that is interesting to the
student(s).
 Ask questions about random aspects of the world.
 Don’t stop at the surface level, peel back the layers,
and get to the core of an issue.
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

30. wisdom
An enriching life
Innovation &
creativity
When curiosity is focused, it leads to:
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

31. BENEFITS OF POSSESSING INTELLECTUAL
CURIOSITY
Ability to problem solve
Dedication to being a life learner
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

32. Conclusion
Helping our students to become intellectually
curious
Will invigorate our classrooms
Help students to achieve success
Develop leaders that are transformational
Innovate the business community
Change the world for the greater good
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

33. QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun

34. References
Baehr, J. (2013). Educating for Intellectual virtues: From theory to practice.
Journal of Philosophy of Education, 47(2).
Bapat, V. (2014). The 7 Traits of Intellectually Curious Leaders. Digitallist
Magazine, SAP.
Bathina, J. (2013). Before setting a course to learn know thyself. Phi Delta
Kappan, 95.
Fisher, K. (2000). Curiouser and Curiouser: The virtue of wonder. Boston
University, Journal of Education, 182(2).
Maki, P. (2002). Moving from paperwork to pedagogy, channeling intellectual
curiosity into a commitment to assessment. Retrieved from
http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/paperwork.htm on 10/14/2016.
Intellectual Curiosity & Leadership Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt, Ph.D. #ACBSPCancun