The Essential Leadership Skill When Leading Through Change & Uncertainty- Curiosity.
As leaders, we all want to inspire greatness and build high-performing teams. Being an effective leader hinges on enhancing innovation, creativity and decision-making, and driving team performance, growth, and business results.
But what if you already possess one of the most powerful traits for achieving this?
Curiosity.
This often-overlooked, deeply human trait is transformative for the complexities leaders need to navigate today.
In fact, curiosity is recognised as a critical leadership skill by heavyweights like Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Simon Sinek. One HBR survey showed that 83% of C-suite leaders and over half of employees believe curiosity drives positive change- and it’s even linked to better career outcomes (HBR, 2018). A study by SAS found a rising trend in job ads on LinkedIn that highlight curiosity as a valued skill.
“Curiosity is recognised as a critical leadership skill by heavyweights like Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Simon Sinek.”
Why Curiosity Is Essential for 6 Core Leadership Drivers
1- Curiosity Sparks Innovation and Creativity
In a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous), leaders can’t just manage the present- they need to anticipate the future and be adept at leading through change. Curiosity fuels this visionary mindset.
“Consensus leads to the most tolerable decision for the most people. Disruption? That’s the decision that was argued to the death.”
Curious leaders don’t default to “how we’ve always done it.” They ask bold questions, invite diverse thinking, and push boundaries- not alone, but through the collective brilliance of their teams. They recognise that they aren't the smartest person in the room and they leverage team intelligence.
Consensus leads to the most tolerable decision for the most people. Disruption? That’s the decision that was argued to the death. Disruption is what brought us Netflix, Airbnb, Uber, Spotify, and the iPhone- ideas that were once ridiculed. Behind each of these? A curious leader willing to challenge the norm.
When teams see that their leader values exploration and new approaches, they’re more likely to bring forward their innovative solutions. This creates a culture of continuous improvement, where everyone feels empowered to challenge the status quo.
2-Curiosity Fosters Psychological Safety
A key element of leadership is creating a safe space for your team. Psychological safety- where people feel safe to share ideas, admit mistakes, and speak up without fear or judgement- is essential for building high-performing teams.
As a curious leader, here’s how you can nurture this safety:
Foster idea generation and let go of being the smartest person in the room.
Try this: Design meetings and brainstorming sessions with the explicit goal of surfacing bold ideas. Your role as a leader is to facilitate the flow of ideas and connection back to the strategy, vision and purpose, not to go it alone.
Encourage diverse thinking.
Try this: Let your team know that all ideas are welcome- and remind them that when debate happens, it means that bold thinking is happening. Ask “What excites you about this idea?” or “How can we test this quickly?” to keep the momentum going.
Practice active listening.
Try this: Listen to understand, not to reply. A simple ‘dig deeper’ prompt like “And what else?” can unlock deeper thinking and encourage reflection.
Ask open- ended questions.
Try this: Swap “What’s the solution?” for “What other possibilities could we explore?” or “What’s a bolder version of this idea?”
Ask for feedforward.
Try this: Instead of asking for feedback, try a feedforward approach. Tell a team member what you’re working on improving and ask for two ideas to help you improve going forward. It keeps the focus on growth, not past mistakes.
These actions not only build trust but also encourage people to contribute their full potential without the fear of being shut down or judged. When curiosity leads the way, people feel supported to find solutions and improve as a team. It’s this collaborative spirit that leads to better results and stronger team cohesion.
3-Curiosity Drives Relationship Building
Team relationships:
Curious leaders invest time in building meaningful relationships with all stakeholders of their business. They seek to understand others’ strengths, motivations, and perspectives. This relational approach breaks down silos, builds trust, strengthens collaboration and enhances collective alignment to the company purpose and vision. As a result, you can unlock new insights, foster innovation, and ensure everyone works together toward shared goals- a key element in building high-performing businesses.
Try this with your teams: Start every 1:1 with “What’s been a recent win for you- big or small?” It creates space for recognition, helps you see what matters to them, and shows that you’re invested in their experience, not just their output.
Try this with your teams: Set up 15-minute coffee chats with team members- no agenda, just curiosity. Ask about their work, what energises them and what they’d like to do more of. Moments like this build trust and connection over time.
Peer relationships:
They key relationship that many of my coaching clients see the most value from improving? The peer group. As you progress as a leader, your peer group is vital to your success. Many roadblocks in businesses come from misaligned executive and leadership teams- it’s not only your job to protect your teams from the existence of these tensions, its your job to ensure the problems are resolved at your level so that your teams don’t feel tensions in their cross functional peer groups too.
Try this with your peers: With your peers, try doing the same quick catch ups, but instead ask, “what challenges are you facing?” and, “how can I help you?”, or present them with a problem of your own they can help with. Find common ground without throwing other people under the bus. You need your peers to know that you’re trustworthy and the quickest way to destroy your integrity is by talking negatively about someone else when they’re not in the room.
4-Curiosity Enables Continuous Improvement and a Growth Mindset
Curious leaders don’t settle for the way it’s always been done or, good enough. They approach every single challenges with a growth mindset- seeing obstacles as opportunities to learn, grow, adapt, and pivot strategically- essential skills for leading through change and uncertainty.
Curiosity isn’t about getting everything right or having all the answers; it’s about being willing to ask better questions, understanding what went wrong and improving from it.
Try this: Ask your team during retros or project reviews: “What’s one thing we’d do differently if we started this again tomorrow?” It invites reflection without blame and promotes continuous learning.
Try this: When faced with a challenge, pause and ask yourself: “What haven’t we tried yet?” This simple prompt can shift you- and your team- from problem to solution-focused.
5-Curiosity Fuels the Leader as Coach Approach
Curiosity is the engine driving the increasingly vital leader as coach approach. Rather than simply directing, a leader acting as a coach focuses on empowering employees and fostering their growth.
“A coaching mindset, fueled by genuine curiosity, helps unlock individual potential and builds stronger, more self-reliant teams. This is a core component of modern leadership development and effective leadership coaching. ”
Ask powerful, open- ended questions instead of providing answers, prompting team members to find their own solutions.
Practice active listening to truly understand employee perspectives and challenges.
Facilitate development by identifying strengths and creating opportunities for growth.
Build accountability by helping team members own their goals and progress.
Try this: In your next 1:1, resist the urge to jump in with advice. Instead, ask, “What have you already tried?” or “What do you think the next step could be?” These types of questions encourage reflection and autonomy, and help shift the dynamic from problem-solver to coach. Your employees will feel empowered and eventually come to you for help less.
Try this: When helping someone set goals, ask “What would success look like for you in this?” and “What strengths can you lean on to get there?” This builds ownership and connects development to their own motivations.
6-Curiosity and Managing Up: A Crucial Leadership Capability
As leaders step into more senior roles, it’s not just about leading your team- it’s also about understanding and aligning with what your boss, executive team, peer group, and the wider business truly need. Curiosity becomes a strategic tool for managing up effectively.
Rather than assuming you know what’s expected, curious leaders ask thoughtful questions like:
What does success look like from your perspective?
What priorities should I be leaning into more?
What’s on your radar that I might not be seeing?
This shift in focus helps senior leaders stay aligned, anticipate needs, and build trust with stakeholders above them. It also positions you as adaptable, proactive partner- not just an executor.
Try this: In your next check-in with your boss or an exec, ask: “What’s something I’m not asking about that you think I should be?” This opens the door for insight into blind spots or unspoken priorities.
Try this: When taking on a new project or initiative, ask: “What would make this a win in your eyes?” Understanding their definition of success early helps you lead with alignment and impact.
The Authenticity of Curiosity
Curiosity as a leadership trait is only impactful when it’s genuine and the leader must be truly invested in the input of others to foster authenticity, engagement and trust.
Authentic curiosity is about being deeply interested in the ideas, concerns, and thoughts of your team members (good and bad), regardless of their position. It’s about asking questions because you truly want to understand and improve the situation- and not just because you feel like you should. If you’re not genuinely interested in what they have to say, this lack of authenticity will erode trust and harm the relationship quickly.
So, are you feeling curious yet?
Curiosity is more than just a personality trait- it’s a leadership style and a mindset that fosters creativity, innovation, and a strong sense of psychological safety within teams. By embracing curious leadership, leaders can build high-performing teams, effectively navigate uncertainty, and achieve better results. So- take a step back, ask more questions, and see where your curiosity takes you.
Becoming a curious leader isn’t something that happens overnight- it takes a lot of reflection, practice and self-awareness.
So- what did you learn? How are you going to turn these learnings into your own, actionable leadership development goals? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
If you’re ready to dig deeper into your leadership development, book a no-obligation chemistry call, or a coaching package below.
Georgia Kelaher, Fractional CHRO and Leadership Mentor & Coach, The Curious Leadership
Sources
Francesca Gino (2018) The business case for curiosity. Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2018/09/the-business-case-for-curiosity
Harvard Business Review Analytic Services and SAS (2021) Curiosity@Work: A SAS report. SAS. Available at: https://www.sas.com/en_us/news/press-releases/2021/november/curiosity-report.html
Leadership Circle (n.d.) Research and case studies. The Leadership Circle. Available at: https://leadershipcircle.com/en/research/
McKinsey & Company (2024) ‘The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory’, McKinsey & Company, 22 October. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-art-of-21st-century-leadership-from-succession-planning-to-building-a-leadership-factory#/
Sinek, S. (2021) Why great leaders are curious? [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFIxbMcKRg0
Wells, R. (2023) ‘3 reasons curiosity is an in-demand leadership skill – how to build it’, Forbes, 17 December. Available at:https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwells/2023/12/17/3-reasons-curiosity-is-an-in-demand-leadership-skill-how-to-build-it/
