Curiosity certainly may have killed the cat, but curiosity is very unlikely to kill a leader!

In fact contemporary research indicates that an attitude of curiosity in a leader is one of the key attributes that leads to increased productivity and leadership effectiveness. “When you make curiosity a core company value, you signal to your team that it’s OK to ask questions, to challenge assumptions, and to seek out new perspectives….Leaders who are curious are better able to learn from their mistakes, they’re more open to feedback, and they’re more coachable.” (Rachel Powers, ‘Curiosity as a Core Leadership Value’, Linkedin, 20/4/22)

Kirstin Ferguson, Australian author, academic and executive coach, makes the following observations concerning the value of curiosity in her recent book, Head & Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership. Being curious as a leader means you:

• Lead with an open mind and are willing to hear different viewpoints some of which could conflict with your own;
• Are prepared to be wrong and risk looking stupid;
• Are sensitive to the ideas of others;
• Build a climate of acceptance and trust in your team;
• Are humble and comfortable enough to realise that no one  knows everything;
• Are willing to challenge assumptions – both your own as well as other people’s;
• Are willing to change your mind when the facts warrant it;
• Are more likely to be flexible and able to make creative decisions;
• Gain more respect than less curious leaders from your colleagues and also experience less conflict with your direct reports.

In addition, research shows that curiosity creates leaders who are more outcome-focused, strategic, collaborative, influential and are good at leading change initiatives. They have a healthy sense of well-being and enjoy a meaningful life.

How to Enhance Your Curiosity

Research also indicates that you can be a highly curious leader but if you are restricted in expressing your curiosity in your workplace, such as through inappropriate limitations on how you exercise your leadership role, and/or are unable to have access over time to different career opportunities, your curiosity level will probably decline.

Other ways to strengthen curiosity in the workplace:

• Work on your own willingness to accept feedback without being or sounding defensive.

• Develop the use of open-ended questions – ones that don’t elicit ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers. And keep asking your direct reports until they are unable to come up with any more solutions or ideas. ‘What else?’ is a great open-ended question to use here.

• Practise listening in order to understand and not to criticize or judge.

• Reframe ‘why’ questions into ‘what’ questions. For example, instead of asking, “Why did you do that?’ say something like, “What were you hoping to achieve by that action?’ (‘Why’ questions easily trigger a defensive response. They remind us of our mother saying to us as a child, “Why didn’t you tidy your room before coming to dinner?” It tends to invoke what Transactional Analysis calls the Child to Adult response, resulting in the responder feeling disempowered, judged and inferior.) Obviously, using a non-judgemental tone of voice and appropriate body language are essential as well.

• Avoid making assumptions.  Our assumptions cause us to filter the data we observe and then to select the data that reinforces our assumptions, while rejecting the remainder. From that selected data we add meaning to it based on what our existing beliefs tell us is reasonable. We then assume that our assumptions and meaning are an accurate portrayal of reality and draw conclusions that lead to certain beliefs which we assume every other reasonable person would share. Next we take action based on those beliefs as though they were proven facts which in turn affect what we observe next time. Harvard Business School Professor Chris Argyris calls this The Ladder of Inference.

• Hire curious people, especially for roles that require creativity and positive interpersonal relationships. Employing curious people and using the suggestions from this article to encourage their curiosity will help develop a positive culture within your team.

A Final Word

Because these blog articles are addressed primarily to those in, or aspire to be in, formal leadership roles in organisations you will frequently come across the terms ‘direct reports’ and ‘team’. However, the point I want to make is that you don’t have to be a CEO, manager, chairperson or pastor to be a leader. In fact, virtually all people provide some form of leadership – in our families, among friends, work colleagues and in our community involvements. For ultimately leadership is about influencing others – hopefully towards positive outcomes. We do that through the example we model, the encouragement and care we offer, the service we give as well as the words we say and how we say them. And you don’t have to be in an official leadership position to be able to do that!

Graham Beattie

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