The Openness – to – Discovery Scale
Created by Kathlyn Hendricks, Ph.D. & Gay Hendricks, Ph.D.
Willingness to learn from each moment — as opposed to defending ourselves by stonewalling, explaining, justifying, withdrawing, blaming — is much more important than factors like IQ, family background, race or degrees. The great advantage of openness-to-learning is that you’re in charge of it at all times: it’s always within your control to shift out of defensiveness into genuine curiosity. Another great advantage: it can’t be faked. You can feel instantly whether you’re genuinely wondering — or clinging to a defence. This scale was designed to help you make more graceful shifts out of defensiveness.
High Openness-to-Discovery
+10 Implementing (planning actions, requesting support for follow-up).
+9 Feeling and showing genuine enthusiasm about the possibilities.
+8 Taking full responsibility for the issue and the results that were created.
+7 Thinking out loud, making new associations about an issue.
+6 Requesting information and examples about an issue.
+5 Listening generously (able to paraphrase other person’s statements without interjecting your point of view)
+4 Expressing appreciation for the messenger and the message, regardless of delivery
+3 Openly wondering about the issue.
+2 Expressing genuine curiosity about the issue.
+1 Demonstrating open posture and body language.
…………………………………………………………….
Key transition moves:
Choosing WONDERING over DEFENDING & Committing to LEARN
…………………………………………………………….
Low Openness-to-Discovery
– 1 Showing polite interest outwardly while inwardly clinging to your
point of view or rehearsing your rebuttal
– 2 Explaining how the person has misperceived the situation.
– 3 Interpreting what the person is saying as an attack.
– 4 Justifying why you’re the way you are, or why you acted the way you did.
– 5 Going silent, getting edgy or snappy.
– 6 Finding fault with the way the message is delivered.
– 7 Righteous indignation: demanding evidence in a hostile manner.
– 8 Blaming something or someone else.
– 9 Attacking or threatening the messenger, verbally or otherwise.
– 10 Creating an uproar or leaving abruptly.
©2013 The Hendricks Institute 800.688.0772 www.hendricks.com
At this link, a lovely person summarised the great learnings from Dr Gay Hendricks Conscious Living book. Highly recommended!
