How to Lead with Curiosity (and the Benefits of Doing So!)
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a naturally curious person.
Whether out on the basketball court during practice (my poor coaches!) or in class at school (my poor teachers!) or during meetings at work (my poor colleagues!), I always want to know why…
And how…
And when…
You get the picture.
Why are we doing things this way?
How is this going to help us?
When is this happening?
For me, I find that I’m at my best when I understand the why that’s driving decisions being made.
While asking a lot of questions may feel tedious to some, I view it as an essential part of my leadership DNA.
To me, curiosity is one of the most fruitful qualities a leader can have.
It demonstrates recognition of the fact that you don’t have all the answers.
Because let’s be honest...
No matter your career path.
Regardless of your leadership style.
In spite of all your achievements.
The second you start to lead like you know it all… you’re finished.
Now, you’re probably reading this thinking “But Karine - I’ve done this before! I’ve led teams to the promised land. I’ve delivered results. I know exactly what I’m doing…”
And I’m not saying you don’t.
But once you lose that curiosity, your growth as a leader stops.
No further chance at improving.
No ability for you to develop your own skills or ability to assess a problem and choose the best solution.
No innovative or creative problem-solving.
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
Not only does this quote from Walt Disney ring true for me throughout my own career, but it shines a light on some important truths about curiosity from a leadership point of view.
By opening doors and being exposed to new paths, we continue to learn more about ourselves and our employees. Through curiosity, we’re able to view issues critically through others’ perspectives and consider ideas that may differ from our own. It’s curiosity that leads us to growth, learning and a higher level of thinking.
So, how can you make sure you’re leading with curiosity?
It starts between the ears
First thing’s first - your mindset is absolutely critical.
By approaching every interaction you have with your team from a place of curiosity, you open the door to breakthroughs and results.
That’s because being curious means actively listening to your people and asking questions with a very open mind.
Without letting preconceived notions or assumptions get in the way, you’ll find that you’re able to get a real sense of what is happening on your team.
I find that one of the hardest things for some leaders to do is to shift away from the mindset that they are the expert.
Sure, you’re in your position because you bring a level of skill and knowledge to the table that distinguishes you… as a leader.
Your people are the experts at what they do - that’s why you hired them, right?
It’s not your job to tell your employees what to do and how to do it… you’re there to make their lives easier so they can flourish and do what they know how to do best.
One of the greatest compliments you can pay your team is showing them that your relationship at work is one of partnership and collaboration. By remaining curious at all times, you open yourself up to their feedback and will find yourself much more likely to trust their instincts and stand by their decisions.
But as I said before - this is a real mindset shift for many leaders and it’s all rooted in curiosity.
Find out what makes them tick
Curious leaders are masters of understanding who their employees are and what motivates them.
In my last blog, we explored building deeper relationships with your team. When you make a legitimate effort to get to know your team, you create a safe space that allows them to feel comfortable to be their true selves.
This typically creates opportunities for more honest conversations that go beyond simply scratching the surface and instead, contribute towards an environment where true growth is possible for both you and your employees.
In my own experiences, I try to show my team that I’m there to do whatever I can to remove any obstacles they might be facing (could be physical, mental, or making sure resources are there) and that I’m not the expert. I’ve gone from hotels to banking to airlines and while I haven’t always been well-versed in the industry I’m joining, I do know how to manage teams.
However, in an effort to build rapport and exhibit curiosity, I have made it a point to rely on my team’s knowledge and experience to help me lead them by staying out of their way. This creates self-confidence and belief, which leads to the team holding one another accountable and governing themselves.
But it’s much easier to do this if you truly know your people.
By focusing on the human side and remaining curious, you will learn what your team’s strengths (as well as their opportunities for improvement) are, and be able to better understand what’s influencing their choices and actions at work.
A word of caution here: in order to make meaningful connections with your employee that lead to positive results, you must be able to put your assumptions aside. The whole point to being curious here is to build legitimate relationships with your employees. If you aren’t going in to that process with an open mind, ready to listen, then what’s the point? Authenticity goes hand-in-hand with curiosity in this case.
The art of asking powerful questions
So by now, I’m guessing you see why I feel so strongly about curiosity and its powers in leadership.
But you might be looking for some more concrete advice on how to put it into practice.
In my mind, there’s no better way to demonstrate curiosity than by asking powerful questions.
At their core, questions show an interest, demonstrate purpose and elevate a conversation from perfunctory pleasantries to a true two-way exchange of information.
You want to ask questions that are going to help your team keep their eye on the ball.
Questions that help them think for themselves, or gently guide them towards the answers that lay within.
It’s important to remember why you’re asking these questions - it’s not to simply get information for yourself, but rather, to awaken something in your employees around whatever it is you’re discussing or looking to solve.
This is where the types of questions you ask become important. Ideally, you should ask questions which are open-ended, because this will require that your people are more open in their answers. This on its own will typically bring them closer to the solution that they’re looking for.
But the questions are really to allow them to think for themselves and uncover the answers for themselves. Remember: they are the experts here!
Back in my hotel industry days, I’d often have one of my employees come to the back office and explain that they were dealing with a customer who had booked a room with two beds but insisted on a room with one bed; therefore, my employee was suggesting that we needed to overbook one-bedded room type inventory.
Now normally, the easy thing to do would be to go ahead and overbook.
But the more effective way is to ask some questions to learn a little more about the situation.
“What are the customer’s actual needs?”
“How do you think overbooking will help the overall situation?”
“What is holding you back from explaining the situation to the customer?”
“What do you think we should do to help the customer?”
Asking the right questions - while demonstrating curiosity - also allowed me to get down to the nitty gritty to try and understand what was holding my employee back from explaining the situation to the customer as opposed to just going against our policies.
By asking questions, you might find yourself drawing attention to your employee’s blind spots. In the hotel example above, maybe my employee wasn’t aware of our SOPs and simply always reverted to this overbooking measure to avoid upsetting a customer? Or perhaps they’re afraid of informing the customer that they wouldn’t be able to stay in the room that they originally booked?
Whatever the case may be, I know that it was much more powerful to go about it by asking questions as opposed to simply being prescriptive or instructional on how to handle the situation. By remaining curious and asking powerful questions, it allowed my employee room to grow and learn, which at the end of the day, is what my job as a leader boils down to.
Curiosity cures (almost) all
I hope I’ve shown you how curiosity can make you a more effective leader.
By starting with a curious mindset, and by taking the time to demonstrate an interest and building rapport, it opens the door for you to be able to ask powerful questions. All of these strategies play off one another and fortunately, lead to some great benefits across the board:
How leading with curiosity helps your customers
Your customers will benefit from a more seamless, consistent experience. When your team is cohesive, when employees feel empowered (thanks to all of the time and interest you’ve shown through the questions you’ve asked them!), the customer experience improves. Your customers won’t be standing around waiting for approvals from a manager because why? Because your employees are the experts and they can deliver for your customers.
How leading with curiosity helps your team and employees
Your employees will feel valuable and feel like their contributions truly matter. When your team feel independent and that they can operate as individuals, they’ll never feel just like cogs in a machine. With a greater feeling of purpose, they will be more motivated than ever to exceed expectations and achieve results.
How leading with curiosity helps you as a leader
While it may seem like a bit more effort in the short term, in the long term, your team is going to be more autonomous, independent and more capable of tackling bigger projects. By remaining curious and showing them you’re genuinely invested in them, your team will become more cohesive, efficient and effective. Plus, you’ll learn more about your own leadership style and abilities to incorporate others’ ideas and feedback into your decision making process.