Cultivating Curiosity: A Leadership Perspective

What happens when you lead with questions, not just answers?

In a world that often rewards quick answers, decisiveness, and certainty, curiosity can seem optional, even inefficient. But it’s curiosity, the willingness to stay open, ask questions, and explore unfamiliar territory, that fuels growth. It expands knowledge and creativity, deepens our connections with others, strengthens adaptability, and leads to better decision-making.

What is curiosity, exactly?

Curiosity is the desire to know something. It drives us to explore, understand, and connect. For those who are naturally curious, it’s like holding a prism to the sun and revealing new angles, insights, and opportunities with every shift. No wonder curiosity has often been viewed with a kind of reverence. The 18th-century English writer Samuel Johnson once described curiosity as “the thirst of the soul.”

Curiosity is like exploring a cave with a torch. You enter with only a dim light and no clear map, just the desire to discover what lies ahead. Some paths lead nowhere, others double back. Progress is slow and uncertain, but each step is guided by a question: what might be around the next corner?

Occasionally, your torch reveals something extraordinary, a hidden chamber, a glint of colour, a new perspective. Curiosity leads us through unfamiliar terrain, not with answers, but with attention, revealing insights we’d never find by sticking to the well-lit track.

There’s something quietly profound in witnessing a child’s wonder, the way their eyes light up with curiosity, marvelling at a world still new and full of magic. The impulse to seek new information, explore possibilities, and follow questions is a basic human trait. As every parent knows, “why?” is the constant refrain of young children who have an insatiable need to understand the world around them. Children aren’t afraid to ask questions or appear unsure, not yet burdened by the need to appear competent.

Over the years of our growing up, self-consciousness creeps in. The desire to look like we know what we’re doing begins to outweigh the drive to ask. And by adulthood, many of us have learned to suppress our curiosity.

Measurable decline in Curiosity

This decline isn’t just anecdotal, it’s measurable. In Breakpoint and Beyond (1993), George Land and Beth Jarman conducted a longitudinal study with 1,600 children. Using a creativity test that is also used by NASA, they found that 98% of 3- to 5-year-olds scored at a “highly creative” level. By age 10, this dropped to 30%. By age 15, just 12%, and in adulthood, only 2% reached the same level.

These findings show more than just a loss of creativity; they reflect how we gradually unlearn curiosity. We’re taught to converge and comply instead of imagining and inventing. To memorise instead of innovating.

The link to growth and mindset

Being curious reflects a growth mindset, one that embraces challenges, thinks critically, and pursues continual learning. Curiosity isn’t just about absorbing information; it’s about engaging with it deeply. Curious people ask questions and seek understanding, from the big picture to the finer details. This mindset helps them uncover solutions where others may only see problems.
Uncertainty, the awareness of not knowing, often fuels curiosity. When something is unclear, a curious mind doesn’t turn away. It leans in. It explores.

A recent study at Duke University found that curious people often choose to delay resolution (Abigail Hsiung et al). They prefer to stay in the moment, allowing answers to unfold gradually. This not only enhances satisfaction and enjoyment, but also improves memory. Curiosity, it turns out, isn’t just about solving, it’s about savouring.

Beginner’s mind: seeing with fresh eyes

Curiosity is closely linked to the concept of beginner’s mind, one of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s nine attitudes of mindfulness. He describes it as approaching each experience with fresh eyes, as if encountering it for the first time. While simple in theory, this mindset is surprisingly difficult to maintain.

Why? Because our brains are wired for efficiency. We instinctively interpret new situations through the lens of past experience. While this mental shortcut can be helpful, it often narrows our perspective and limits our openness to new possibilities.

In Full Catastrophe Living (2013), Kabat-Zinn writes: “Too often we let our thinking and our beliefs about what we ‘know’ prevent us from seeing things as they really are. We tend to take the ordinary for granted and fail to grasp the extraordinariness of the ordinary.”

Curiosity fuels creativity and innovation

Curiosity fuels our drive to question, seek out new information, and explore new possibilities. In doing so, it fosters divergent thinking, the ability to generate a range of ideas. Sparked by curiosity, divergent thinking becomes a powerful enabler of creativity. It’s what drives artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs to imagine beyond the known and venture into new territory.

Without curiosity, many of the world’s most important discoveries and inventions, from using flints to start a fire, to the invention of the light bulb, might never have happened. Einstein stated that it was his curious nature, not any unique talent, as the driving force behind his achievements when he said “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

In 1928, Alexander Fleming returned from holiday to find mould growing on one of his Petri dishes. Instead of discarding it, his curiosity took over, he noticed the mould had killed nearby bacteria. Rather than seeing a failed experiment, he asked why and how. That question led to the discovery of penicillin, the world’s first true antibiotic, which went on to revolutionise medicine and save millions of lives. Without curiosity, Fleming might have missed one of history’s greatest breakthroughs, just as early humans might have ignored the spark from striking flint.

Curiosity fuels decision-making and problem solving

In the workplace, curiosity is increasingly recognised as a strategic advantage, a catalyst for job satisfaction, motivation, problem solving, innovation, and high performance.
Curious employees bring fresh ideas, challenge assumptions, and seek diverse input.

While they may seem to have wandering minds, curious people see opportunity in complexity. They absorb, connect, and synthesise as they explore problems, learning something new with each challenge they face.

Curiosity also encourages open-minded engagement with information, including views that may challenge our assumptions. This makes us less prone to confirmation bias and more likely to think deeply and rationally. The result? Better decisions and more creative solutions.

Curiosity builds empathy and deepens connections

Curiosity is the starting point for meaningful human connection. It helps us learn how to meet others where they are, rather than where we assume them to be. When we approach engagement with an attitude of enquiry, asking thoughtful questions and showing genuine interest, people tend to like us more, view us as more competent, and are more likely to trust us. That trust lays the foundation for stronger, more authentic relationships.

“Listen with curiosity, speak to understand“

Curiosity transforms how we listen.

Instead of simply waiting to speak, we listen to understand. In teams and group settings, this encourages people to put themselves in each other’s shoes, take interest in different perspectives, and work together more effectively. It reduces conflict and builds cohesion.

Intentional, curious listening helps us tune into not just what is being said, but what is meant, both verbally and non-verbally. It reveals gaps in our understanding and prompts further enquiry. Over time, this kind of listening improves how we respond to different ideas, personalities, and situations, and strengthens team dynamics and performance.

Curious employees also tend to build stronger networks. They ask more questions, form deeper ties, and more easily find the support they need to navigate challenges and grow in their careers.

Curiosity underpins trust

Curiosity plays a powerful role in building trust, particularly in leadership. Leaders who model curiosity, by asking questions, genuinely listening, and withholding judgement, create a climate of psychological safety. When staff feel heard and understood, trust grows, collaboration strengthens, and respect follows.

Greg Dyke demonstrated this elegantly when he was appointed Director General of the BBC. In 2000, before officially stepping into the role, he visited teams across the organisation and asked two simple questions:

• “What’s one thing I should do to make things better for you?”
• “What should I do to make things better for our viewers and listeners?”

Rather than leading with a vision or issuing directives, he led with curiosity. That willingness to listen, not just speak, earned the respect of his staff and surfaced the insights he needed to lead change effectively.

Trust isn’t built by having all the answers. It’s built when leaders show they’re open to learning from others.

Curiosity builds adaptability and resilience

Curiosity helps shift our mindset from fear to exploration. In times of uncertainty, curious individuals are more likely to ask, “What can I learn from this?” Rather than resist change, they lean into it. During the rapid shift to remote work during the Covid years, those who explored new tools and ways of working were able to adapt faster and support others in doing the same. Teams that approach change with curiosity remain more engaged, open, and resilient.

For leaders, curiosity is a key to creating psychological safety. It signals openness to questions, feedback, and experimentation. This encourages teams to explore alternatives, surface risks early, and adapt more confidently. Curious teams tend to stay engaged, seek diverse perspectives, and view challenges as opportunities to grow. Rather than clinging to what was, they’re better prepared to adapt to what could be.

Barriers to curiosity

As we’ve seen, natural curiosity faces an uphill battle from the start, and many of the obstacles are built into the systems around us. In schools, we’re rewarded for correct answers over original thinking. Social norms push us to conform. And in many workplaces, we’re trained to follow procedures, align with policies, and prioritise efficiency over exploration. Imagination, experimentation, and innovation are often quietly discouraged.

Even when leaders say they value inquisitive thinking, many still fear that curiosity will slow things down or increase risk. A study by Francesca Gino, involving over 3,000 employees across industries, found that only 24% felt curious at work on a regular basis, and nearly 70% reported facing barriers to asking more questions (The Business Case for Curiosity). As workloads increase and expectations harden, curiosity is often the first thing to go.

Organisational culture matters too. In some workplaces, curiosity is subtly punished: certainty is rewarded, creativity is seen as inefficient, and challenging the status quo is viewed as disruptive. Ironically, experience and seniority can also become barriers. The more we feel we’re expected to have answers, the less willing we are to ask questions.

Personal factors also play a role. Often we hold back from asking questions out of fear of seeming incompetent, indecisive, or unprepared. Internal pressures such as negative self-talk “I should already know this” combine with external pressures such as time limits and urgency, leaving little room for reflective exploration.

To reclaim curiosity, we need to recognise what’s stifling it, and choose intentionally to create space for it again.

Cultivating your curiosity

A growth mindset fosters resilience, continuous improvement, and curiosity — a capacity we can intentionally strengthen over time. While not everyone feels naturally curious, it’s a quality we can nurture and grow.

A useful starting point is recognising the personal value of curiosity. When we understand how curiosity benefits us, we’re more motivated to develop it actively. Research by Rachit Dubey, a cognitive scientist at Princeton University, has shown that simply reminding ourselves of how useful new knowledge can be can reignite curiosity when it begins to wane.

The following model breaks down the key elements involved in cultivating curiosity, showing how mindset, practice, and embodied actions work together to help you bring curiosity to life.

Mindset

How we think and what we believe about curiosity

• Embrace not knowing (leadership requires comfort with ambiguity)
• Avoid rigid thinking (stay open to unexpected ideas and emerging insights)
• Stay humble and open-minded (growth thrives on the willingness to learn)
• Be willing to be vulnerable (curiosity often begins with uncertainty

Practice

Intentional behaviours that strengthen curiosity day to day

• Emphasise listening over speaking
• Practice reflective listening (to deepen understanding)
• Stretch the enquiry phase (risk rushing to assumptions and conclusions)
• Ask open-ended questions (invite insight and new perspectives)
• Focus on better questions (shift from “what” and “why” to “what if…” and “how might we…”)
• Name the unspoken (surface ideas others hesitate to voice)

Embody

Lived actions that bring curiosity to life

• Explore without a fixed goal (allow for discovery)
• Try something novel or unfamiliar (step outside your norm)
• Expand your network (connect with people outside your usual circles)

Leading with curiosity

When you lead with curiosity you don’t just unlock answers, you open the door to growth, connection, and innovation. Curiosity isn’t a luxury or a personality trait. It’s a core leadership capacity, a leadership mindset that fosters adaptability, empathy, better decision making, and deeper engagement with the world around you.

In a time when certainty is often prized, curiosity invites us to stay open, to ask, to listen, to explore. It helps us build trust, navigate complexity, and uncover new possibilities where others see only obstacles.

Cultivating curiosity is not about having all the right questions or needing immediate answers. It’s about creating the space to be surprised, to learn, and to keep growing, both individually and together.

Where is your curiosity inviting you to explore next?