How to Embed Curiosity in Your Leadership and Work Style

Curiosity is a powerful, positive force in a company’s culture, supporting growth and leading to innovation. But how can you embed curiosity?

Contrary to the saying, curiosity is most likely good for a cat. At least, it is good for its owners – including when they go to work.

Curiosity has a proven track record of reducing employee burnout and stress. It is closely linked with other positive qualities, such as creativity and innovation.

Furthermore, leaders who embed curiosity in their management style contribute to an organisational culture where individuals feel seen and heard.

However, leaders and employees may not be reaping the full benefits of curiosity. For example, they may be limiting its definition to the sharing of information. However, it is also a force for creating connections and social cohesion within teams and whole organisations, providing a sense of belonging that can contribute to attracting and retaining talent.

In an excellent article for Harvard Business Review, Scott Shigeoka lays out four short sentences that can help leaders and employees foster an individual and organisational culture of deep curiosity:

1: “I don’t know.”

Shigeoka sees Intellectual humility as a core part of curiosity. Especially leaders may fear confessing to a lack of knowledge or expertise. However, leaders who open up about information or knowledge gaps are often seen as more competent. Similar dynamics apply to individual employees.

For each, the critical aspect here is to have a ready idea about what actions to take to address an information gap. As such, follow-up questions like "Who might know?" or "How can I or my team learn more?" can help foster curiosity and increase collaboration and problem-solving.

2: “Tell me more.”

Individual employees and leaders alike seek connections with those around them. In this context, feeling heard and that people around you are genuinely interested in you is a powerful tool.

For example, a co-worker or member of your team might say something like, "I'm concerned about generative AI" or “I feel like I do not know enough about project management.“

Exploring the meaning and thoughts behind such statements helps maintain or strengthen relationships.

3: “I understand that you’re more than your job.”

Our work and personal lives do not occur in a vacuum. Both influence each other. For leaders and co-workers alike, recognising this helps build stronger connections and understand what may be affecting performance for the individual.

For example, if a worker has a new baby or relational struggles, it can cause exhaustion or other feelings that hamper their work performance. Showing awareness and respect for such issues fosters connections that, over time, will positively impact productivity and job performance. If unresolved or the employee feels a lack of support, they can lead to lower productivity and higher turnover.

4: “Who else?”

In some cases, it can be beneficial to find an answer as quickly as possible and move on. However, it is an approach that can come with an inherent risk of missing insights and different points of view that are often beneficial to reaching a better decision.

Similarly, diverse opinions and contributions can often benefit innovation and identify otherwise unidentified problem-solving approaches.

Exploring other questions

Other questions can help individuals and leaders develop a sense of curiosity throughout the company.

Some examples from our work with organisational culture and culture change management include:

• "What if we tried...?" - Encourages considering new ideas and approaches.

• “Can you explain this to me?” - Shows a genuine interest in learning from others.

• “What’s another perspective on this?” - Opens the dialogue to diverse viewpoints.

• “What or how are we missing?” - Invites the team to consider overlooked aspects of a project or problem or who should be involved.

• “How do I feel about this – and how does it make others feel?” - Invites reflection and consideration.

• "This could be an opportunity for innovation." – Contributes to a mindset of exploring new and different approaches.

• "Let's build on each other's ideas." – Fosters collaborative innovation.

The list of central tenets and questions can differ from organisation to organisation and should reflect the unique situation of each organisation.

The common ground is that fostering a culture of curiosity is a strong force for good within the organisation that helps individual employees, leaders, and the organisation reach its full potential.  

Read much more about leadership, culture change and more on our blog.