S3E4. Turning Curiosity into Action with Michelle King and Melissa Young

This season, join host Frances Johnson as she explores the topic
of continuous curiosity, asking: What is curiosity? Why is it
important? And what roadblocks prevent us from being curious in
our work, homes, and communities? Throughout this season, we’ll
also hear from guests who have used curiosity to pursue something
new – a degree, a profession, or a passion.


In this episode, Frances speaks with Michelle King, a graduate of
the full-time MBA program at the Eccles School. Michelle talks
about her non-traditional experience as a student and how it
shaped her current role as a consultant with Kalypso. She’s
joined by career coach Melissa Young, who shares how she works to
foster curiosity in others and the role that a mentor can play in
helping someone succeed on an unexpected path.
Episode Quotes:

On barriers to curiosity…


Melissa: (10:24) “Fear is really what shuts things down. And I
think when the stakes feel so high - in this case, you have
unplugged from your career and you're in that unknown - it's easy
to attach to an archetype of what it should look like… scarcity
is another thing that can really start to shut down curiosity,
feeling like there's lack or not enough.”


On embracing the freedom to be found in
uncertainty…


Michelle: (9:39) “It took a little while, but I found that it is
so valuable to be curious and truly just learn and talk to other
people without the intention of ‘what can I get from them?’ Going
in with genuine curiosity, not expecting that they're gonna offer
you something after, but just saying: I wanna learn about what
they're doing, and maybe that's something I might be interested
in.”


On the value of a coaching relationship…


Melissa: (17:09) “I think that my personal way of coaching
someone is to really look at where they want to create impact in
an organization, and how they want to do that with both their
soft skills and their hard skills that they're developing, rather
than looking for the [job] title in the very beginning.”


Michelle: (24:53) “Having a coach or a mentor…that person may see
things or be able to have evidence that you may not have locked
in. [To say] ‘I've seen you do these five things. What are you
saying that you're not good at that? I've witnessed this.’ It’s
really helpful in that identity-making and shift.”


Michelle: (13:52) “Just giving me that permission to be myself. I
don't think I would've been able to unlock that if it wasn't for
Melissa telling me that it was okay.”
Show Links:

Michelle King LinkedIn

Melissa Young LinkedIn