The leaders interested in creating opportunities or recognize the importance of thriving in times of change are the ones who ask the boldest questions to fast track exploring the options to learn, grow, and challenge assumptions. This is driven by curiosity and a desire to realize potential – of themselves, their colleagues, and the organization. And why “curiosity“ is a competitive advantage. Curiosity isn’t just a good personality trait or an indulgence – it’s a leadership superpower. In a business environment where meaningful innovation is essential to create new value and achieve success, curiosity serves as the catalyst for breakthroughs and reinvention. Yet, despite its transformative potential, it is one of the least understood and undervalued leadership tool.
According to a Harvard Business Review study, curiosity fosters openness and collaboration while reducing decision-making errors. Yet only 24 % of organizations actively encourage it, leaving a wealth of untapped potential on the table. The best leaders don’t just seek answers – they look a things differently, reframe a problem, or bring a new perspective to the situation. With this mindset, instead of asking – “ How do we fix this ? ” they ask – “ What if we reimagine things ? ”. Leaders who take this approach expand the options to move forward, create new opportunities, enable reinvention and innovation – that are frequently overlooked by those who have a narrow view, a focus on immediate challenges, don’t utilize a different lens or perspective, aren’t curious about other possibilities, etc. With this insight, it’s easy to see how curiosity leads to improved outcomes by being better at – managing change, creating new value, reducing risk, attracting and retaining top talent, having competitive advantage, etc.
Curiosity Begins With Observation
In the world of art and design, curiosity begins with observation. Interestingly “ Few people see an individual flower – it’s small and we typically don’t take the time to look and appreciate it. Unfortunately this behavior results in us missing a lot – since to see takes time ”. In this context, the lesson for leaders is – Real insight comes from taking the time to observe, understand, and act on good information.
People with an entrepreneurial mindset, see opportunity, have good look ahead skills, and are innovative have this mindset and emphasize insight, iteration, and a willingness to learn from failure. Leaders who adopt these principles with portfolio thinking and digital competencies are much better able to determine where the money is going to be, identify new opportunities / unmet needs, get past traditional views / long in the tooth paradigms, etc. This is important to meaningfully improving outcomes by being better at innovation, expanding opportunities, creating new value, good at managing the changing nature of risk, etc.
Curiosity In Action
An example of this mindset is a biotech Executive who revitalized their R&D team with a single question – “ What are we missing in the data that could change the trajectory of our discovery ?” This curiosity-fueled inquiry led to a cross-disciplinary exploration, resulting in a groundbreaking treatment that significantly increased revenue, improved the bottom line, and delivered competitive advantage.
Another example is a high-tech company CTO realizing diminishing returns during a critical product launch. Instead of defaulting to conventional troubleshooting, he asked the question – “ What would this look like if we started from scratch? ” Initially, the team hesitated, but once framed as a thought experiment, the question sparked a creative dialogue that dismantled assumptions. The result ? A novel approach that solved the immediate challenge and laid a foundation for better long-term innovation and much better outcomes.
A third example is a multinational organization CEO who embarked on a listening tour to understand the global workforce and asked a simple and insightful question – “ What inspires you to do your best work ? ”. This inquiry revealed a blend of universal motivators and culturally specific comments that enabled the CEO to craft a new, more effective company mission. The result ? A significant boost in engagement and outcomes, fostered by a sense of belonging that unified the workforce across continents.
These are great examples of why “ curiosity “ matters !
A Framework For Cultivating Curiosity
To harness curiosity as a leadership tool, Executives must commit to intentional practices that encourage entrepreneurship and innovation. Examples of this are –
- Ask The Bigger Questions. Shift from tactical fixes to expansive, open-ended questions. Replace “ How can we cut costs ? ” with “ How can we create more value with fewer resources ? ” or “ How can we Innovate for Impact ? “ These questions inspire fresh perspectives and out-of-the-box thinking.
- Practice Improving at Observation. Adopt an artist or innovator lens – taking the time to better see and appreciate the situation, team, customers, market dynamics and potential, etc. Listen deeply and observe without preconceived notions. Show insight and empathy to uncover opportunities and/or unmet needs, and be good at building trust.
- Encourage Curiosity. Treat curiosity like a skill to be honed. Run curiosity workshops where no idea is too wild. Encourage iterative brainstorming and test small ideas before scaling them, creating a low-risk environment for experimentation.
- Learn from Failure and Discovery. Curiosity-driven leadership requires psychological safety. When teams see failure as a learning opportunity rather than a liability, they are more willing to take risks and innovate. Good leaders encourage this openness and mindset. Recognize the need to have a positive outcome – whether you’re wrong or right (ie: determined what’s needed to generate the next $ billion in revenue).
Fundamentally, curiosity isn’t about confirming what you already know—it’s about exploring the unknown. The best leaders are willing to challenge assumptions, explore different perspectives, and learn from the process.
Summary
Curiosity sparks innovation and it strengthens connections. By demonstrating a genuine interest in your team, their challenges, and their aspirations, you build a culture of trust and collaboration. Leaders who lead with curiosity create workplaces where people feel valued, heard, and inspired to contribute their best.
As well, curiosity better enables leaders to navigate complexity with agility and vision in an increasingly fast-paced environment. It enables them to ask the questions others avoid, see patterns others miss, and find solutions others never imagine. In doing so, they transform their organizations and the lives of those they lead.
From this, it’s clear, leaders who thrive will be those who lead with curiosity. The future belongs to those who dare to be curious.
April 24, 2025 by Tony Martignetti / CAIL CAIL Innovation Commentary
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