I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it super-duper loud.

Curiosity is the most underrated leadership attribute.

Curiosity drives learning and growth, which are essential for effective leadership. A curious leader is always looking for new ideas, perspectives, and ways of doing things, which can lead to innovation and creativity within an organization. It also fosters better decision-making and the development of trust among teams. This all leads to faster and easier growth. Boom-shaka-laka!

Here are a few reasons why you should become curious about curiosity as an effective leadership attribute:

1. Continuous learning: increasing your knowledge base and developing new skills help you to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to changing circumstances. Continuous learning also helps leadership teams close gaps in knowledge and fosters innovation. This also helps them make better decisions, and lead their organization to success.
2. Creativity and Innovation: the discovery of new ideas and solutions comes from asking questions and exploring new possibilities. Demonstrating curiosity gives permission to others to offer their ideas and inspires creativity among your team, leading to new products, services, and processes. This is how to foster the awesome ripple effect of collective intelligence.
3. Understanding: we can label this as compassion or empathy as well, but it all boils down to being curious enough to develop a deeper understanding of your team members, customers, and stakeholders. It also helps avoid making assumptions which can lead us to accidentally focus on the wrong thing, or try a solution that will not actually work, or place blame where it does not belong. By asking questions and seeking to understand the perspective of others, a curious leader can build stronger relationships and make better decisions.
4. Adaptability and Perseverance: in order to see long-term success it is vital for an effective leader to adapt to new situations and challenges. I also refer to this as “navigating change” because it is critical to explore new ideas and approaches in order to be agile in your decision-making process — We can also see this as “focusing on the right thing at the right time,” or “end up where you intend in the time you desire.” Curiosity is essential in a fast-paced and constantly changing environment – a.k.a every organization.

I’m going to keep this article short, sweet, and to the point. I don’t want to cloud the idea with a bunch of fancy mumbo-jumbo.

Curiosity allows an organization to grow faster and easier. It allows you to stop tolerating repeat problems, develops high-performing teams that support you, and leads you to create solutions that stick and are sustainable over the long-haul. Which, if I am not mistaken, is something we all want… lasting kick-assery.