Curiosity is a leadership choice

Organisations often talk about curiosity as though it's a personality choice that employees either make or don’t. Yet, in my experience, it’s not as simple as that. 

Most people that I speak to, would love to question existing ways of working or have the time to investigate new ones. However, their leaders quietly discourage the former and never provide capacity for the latter.

It will come as no surprise that the organisational cultures where creativity and innovation thrive are the ones whose leaders role model what that looks like.  

Research published in 2025 found that when leaders actively display curiosity, it directly improves employees' creative performance and sense of belonging. This leads to greater engagement and enhanced results.

The leaders and managers of these organisations aren’t silencing those that question or frowning upon time spent solutioning new ideas. They recognise that for performance to thrive, the status quo needs to be continually questioned to ensure that the organisation stays ahead of the competition or improves its service performance.

Curiosity isn’t a personality choice, it’s a leadership choice and one that directly influences the culture.