7 Ways You Can Use Curiosity As A Leadership Skill In One-On-Ones

Key Takeaways

• Curiosity in leadership creates trust by showing respect for team input and fostering openness.
  
• Asking questions instead of offering immediate answers builds confidence and capability in others.
  
• Curiosity reframes pressure from “having all the answers” into shared exploration and learning.
  
• One-on-one meetings become more impactful when leaders prioritise curiosity over direction.
  
• Modelling curiosity equips teams with the confidence to contribute ideas and address challenges openly.

‍

Why Leadership Curiosity Builds Trust and Performance

Curiosity is not just a personal trait; it’s a pivotal leadership skill that directly influences trust and team performance. Leaders who embrace curiosity create open channels of communication and understanding. They signal to their teams that every voice matters and every idea is worth exploring. This approach paves the way for a high-trust environment where people feel safe to contribute fully.

Research shows that curiosity-driven leadership leads to stronger performance and more trust within teams. When leaders ask questions and genuinely listen, employees feel valued and respected. This fosters an atmosphere of psychological safety where people are comfortable sharing ideas and concerns. As a result, problems are surfaced sooner and solved more creatively, driving better outcomes for the team.

Curiosity in leadership also involves humility and openness. Instead of feeling pressure to have all the answers, curious leaders admit when they don’t know and ask others for input. This vulnerability can actually create trust and invite a culture of mutual learning. Even major organizations recognize its value. Amazon’s famous “Learn and Be Curious” leadership principle underscores that continuous learning and inquiry are essential for success.

For teams, the payoff of curiosity is tangible in performance as well. A culture that questions assumptions often uncovers efficiencies and innovative ideas that others miss. By encouraging employees to explore “why” and “what if,” curious leaders drive continuous improvement. In turn, engagement rises and results follow, because people are invested in solving problems rather than passively taking orders.

In essence, curiosity lays the foundation for trust and drives better performance. It transforms everyday interactions by showing employees that their input is valued. That trust becomes the fuel for greater engagement and innovation on the team. When a leader consistently leads with curiosity, the entire team benefits from a more collaborative and high-performing culture.

7 Actions To Practice Curiosity As A Leadership Skill

Knowing that curiosity is vital is one thing; practising it daily with your team is another challenge altogether. Effective leaders weave curiosity into how they interact, especially in one-on-one meetings with their team members. Seven key actions can help you cultivate a “learn and be curious” mindset in your leadership style. Each one focuses on making curiosity a habit that benefits both you and your team.

Ask more and answer less to spark real insight

One of the simplest ways to practise curiosity as a leader is to ask more questions and give fewer immediate answers. In one-on-one conversations, resist the urge to jump in with a solution every time a team member raises a challenge. By asking thoughtful, open-ended questions instead, you prompt them to think more deeply and share their perspective. This not only sparks real insight but also shows you trust their ideas and capabilities. Often, the solutions they come up with will surprise you, leading to better outcomes than if you had simply told them what to do.

Encouraging your team to explore their own answers creates a learning dialogue rather than a one-sided conversation. It takes patience to hold back advice, but the payoff is a more capable and confident team. As leadership coach Tyler Chisholm notes, resisting the urge to settle for the quickest answer leads to better decisions and fewer blind spots. By staying curious and avoiding snap judgments, you allow deeper insights to emerge that might otherwise be missed. For example, if a direct report is struggling with a project, asking “What options have you considered so far?” can open up a richer discussion than immediately prescribing a fix.

Speak last in meetings so others shape the space

As a curious leader, intentionally hold back from voicing your opinion at the start of meetings. When the person with authority speaks first, it can unintentionally set a narrow tone and discourage others from sharing candidly. Instead, invite your team to contribute their thoughts while you listen actively. By speaking last, you allow others to shape the discussion and signal that their ideas carry weight. For the team, this practice boosts confidence and often surfaces perspectives that might otherwise remain hidden.

Letting others speak first requires discipline and genuine curiosity on your part. It means you are not just waiting for your turn to talk, but truly absorbing what others say. This approach builds trust because team members see that you prioritize understanding their viewpoints over promoting your own. Over time, they become more forthcoming and engaged, knowing the leader will give them room to voice ideas and concerns. For instance, in a planning meeting, you might go around the table asking each person for their input while you take notes, only adding your thoughts after everyone else has spoken.

Let team members set the agenda to surface what matters

In one-on-ones, give your team members ownership of the agenda to highlight what’s important to them. Rather than walking into the meeting with a fixed list of your own topics, start by asking what they would like to discuss. This shows that you’re curious about their priorities and concerns, not just your own. When employees set the agenda, they’re more likely to bring up honest feedback, hidden problems, or ideas they otherwise might hesitate to share. It flips the one-on-one from a directive update to a collaborative conversation centered on what truly matters to them.

Practically, this could mean beginning each one-on-one by simply saying, “What’s on your mind today?” and letting them lead off. You may discover issues or questions that weren’t even on your radar. By listening and following their lead, you build trust and show respect for their autonomy. The team member feels heard and empowered, which boosts their engagement and ownership of solutions. It also helps you as a leader stay informed about concerns or ideas that might never surface in more manager-driven meetings.

Keep a shared document of questions and decisions in one-on-ones

Maintaining a shared document for one-on-one meetings is a simple technique to encourage ongoing curiosity and accountability. In this document, both you and your team member can jot down questions, topics, and updates before each meeting. This ensures that curious questions don’t get lost and that past decisions or promises are tracked. It creates a running dialogue that both parties contribute to, reflecting a transparent and continuous conversation. Nothing falls through the cracks, and both sides come prepared to explore the questions that truly matter.

Using a shared one-on-one document also signals that you take your team member’s questions and ideas seriously. When they see their concerns written down and revisited later, it reinforces that their input has value. Over time this habit trains both of you to come to meetings with a curious mindset, ready to follow up on unfinished queries or new insights. It transforms one-on-ones from a routine check-in into a joint problem-solving session with a record of progress. For example, if a question about a client issue was raised last month, you can note it and ensure you both discuss what was learned or resolved in the next meeting.

Invite “what if” and “why” to stretch safe thinking

Great leaders actively invite questions like “What if…?” and “Why…?” during discussions to push beyond the status quo. These curiosity questions challenge comfortable assumptions and open up possibilities that “safe” thinking would overlook. For instance, asking “What if we had no budget constraints?” or “Why do we do it this way?” can lead the team to new creative approaches. By deliberately posing these questions, you signal that innovative, expansive thinking is welcome and encouraged. This practice stretches the team’s imagination and helps them break out of habitual thinking patterns.

Leaders who use “what if” and “why” regularly create an environment where it’s safe to take intellectual risks. Team members start to feel comfortable proposing offbeat ideas or asking fundamental questions, because they see that curiosity is rewarded, not frowned upon. As described in Curious As Hell, when a leader frames challenges with possibility language, everyone feels encouraged to lean into what’s possible. Over time, this habit of exploring alternatives leads to more innovative solutions and a team that isn’t afraid to question and experiment.

Admit when you don’t know to model learning

Admitting “I don’t know” as a leader is a powerful way to demonstrate curiosity and set a tone of continuous learning. Rather than diminishing your authority, it shows confidence in your ability to learn and a willingness to hear others’ insights. For example, if a team member asks something you’re unsure about, respond with a candid admission like, “I’m not sure about that.” You can follow up with something like, “What do you think?” to make it a collaborative search for answers. This openness models to everyone that not having all the answers is okay, as long as you’re eager to learn.

A leader’s humility in admitting gaps can actually strengthen their credibility. Team members are more likely to trust you when they see honesty and a focus on finding the best answer over being right. Studies and veteran leaders alike have observed that vulnerability from the leader creates a safe space for others to share ideas and admit uncertainties. By saying “I don’t know” when appropriate and then actively seeking the answer, you show that learning is part of the job for everyone, including you. Over time, your team will mirror this behaviour, becoming more comfortable acknowledging what they don’t know and looking for solutions together.

Rotate facilitation so curiosity grows across your team

Curiosity thrives when everyone gets a chance to lead and ask questions, not just the manager. A practical way to encourage this is to rotate meeting facilitation among team members. If you normally run the weekly team meeting, try assigning a different person to facilitate each time while you participate as an observer or contributor. This rotation shows that you are curious to see things from their perspective and that you trust them to guide important conversations. For one-on-one meetings, you can take a similar approach by occasionally letting your direct report drive the conversation agenda entirely.

When leaders step back and let others take the lead, it transforms the dynamic. Your team members get to practise curiosity and leadership in a safe setting, and you get to learn from how they approach problems. As highlighted by one leader’s experience, the relationship becomes more peer-to-peer when you let a team member guide the conversation. You essentially become “at their service rather than at the head of the table,” which deepens trust and engagement on both sides. This not only grows confidence and curiosity in your team, but also gives you valuable insight into their capabilities and ideas.

Cultivating curiosity through these actions transforms one-on-ones and meetings from routine check-ins into powerful engines of growth. As a leader, your commitment to these habits signals that curiosity is more than a buzzword; it’s a fundamental part of how you operate every day. Over time, team members will mirror this inquisitive behaviour, creating a culture of continuous learning. By embedding curiosity into daily leadership practice, you develop more confident, innovative, and engaged teams.

How Curiosity Shapes Better One-On-Ones And Team Meetings

Curiosity changes the tone and outcomes of both one-on-one meetings and team discussions in tangible ways. When a leader approaches these interactions with genuine curiosity, it sets a tone of respect and openness. Team members notice and become more forthcoming and creative in their contributions. As a result, curiosity-driven leadership produces clear benefits in everyday meetings and conversations.

• Curiosity builds psychological safety. When leaders show genuine curiosity, people feel safe to share honest feedback and wild ideas. Over time, this openness becomes part of the team culture, and everyone feels valued and heard.
• Curiosity uncovers issues early. Curious one-on-one questions often reveal obstacles or concerns that would otherwise stay hidden. By identifying problems sooner, the team can address them before they escalate.
• Curiosity increases engagement. Team meetings become more lively and participative when curiosity is the norm. Employees engage more deeply because they know their contributions matter and their questions are welcome.
• Curiosity sparks creativity and innovation. A curious atmosphere encourages people to explore new ideas without fear. Teams that regularly ask “what if” tend to find creative solutions and improvements more often.
• Curiosity strengthens relationships. Asking questions and listening intently shows respect, which deepens trust between leaders and team members. This mutual respect leads to better collaboration and a more unified team.
• Curiosity leads to better decisions. With more information and perspectives on the table, decisions are more well-informed. It prevents groupthink by ensuring that alternatives and risks are fully explored before committing to a course of action.

For both individual check-ins and group meetings, leading with curiosity clearly elevates their quality and impact. Conversations become more two-way and solutions become more collaborative. Teams that feel safe and heard will naturally perform better and adapt faster. In short, curiosity turns ordinary meetings into opportunities for connection, learning, and progress.

Curious As Hell Support For Your Leadership Journey

Adopting a curiosity-driven leadership style is a journey of continuous learning and growth. It is not always easy; real workplace pressures and old habits can tempt you to revert to top-down, quick-fix leadership behaviours. This is where consistent support and practical strategies become crucial for staying the course. Every leader faces daily challenges that test their curiosity and resolve, and having guidance rooted in real experience makes a difference.

Whether you’re giving constructive feedback to a struggling employee or wrestling with a tough strategic decision, curiosity can be the difference between a breakthrough and a stalemate. The Curious As Hell approach equips you with practical questions and techniques to navigate these moments with confidence. Instead of reacting on impulse or falling back on old habits, you learn to pause and lean into curiosity even under pressure. This shift turns everyday leadership hurdles into opportunities for learning and connection. It means tense conversations become dialogues and stagnant projects find new momentum because you ask instead of tell.

Over time, leading with curiosity solidifies your credibility and authority as a leader. You become the person people trust because they know you’re listening and learning alongside them. We believe that kind of trust is the cornerstone of great leadership. The insights behind Curious As Hell are born from real leadership trials and triumphs, ensuring every lesson carries authenticity and weight. Our mission is to be a trusted partner by sharing that hard-won wisdom, so you can confidently navigate your own leadership journey with a mindset of curiosity.

‍

Common Asked Questions About Curiosity As A Leadership Skill

How does curiosity improve leadership communication?

Curiosity improves leadership communication by encouraging open questions that invite team members to share more than surface-level answers. This type of dialogue builds clarity and ensures everyone feels heard instead of managed. Over time, it fosters deeper trust and more effective collaboration. At Curious As Hell, we equip leaders with tools to practise this type of questioning so your communication consistently produces stronger outcomes.

Why is curiosity considered a leadership skill instead of just a personality trait?

Curiosity is a skill because it can be developed, measured, and practised daily in your role as a leader. It goes beyond personality by shaping how you handle pressure, invite feedback, and guide teams toward better outcomes. Treating curiosity as a skill ensures it becomes part of how you work, not just who you are. Curious As Hell helps leaders integrate this into practical routines that build long-term trust and performance.

Can curiosity reduce stress in leadership roles?

Yes, curiosity can reduce stress because it shifts the focus from needing all the answers to asking better questions. This relieves leaders from the impossible burden of certainty and creates space for collaborative problem-solving. Stress becomes easier to manage when the responsibility for solutions is shared across the team. Our approach shows you how to apply curiosity under pressure so you make clearer choices with less strain.

How do I encourage curiosity within my team?

You can encourage curiosity by modelling it yourself—asking questions, admitting when you don’t know, and giving space for ideas. When team members see this behaviour from you, they feel safer to do the same. Over time, curiosity spreads across the team as a cultural norm. At Curious As Hell, we offer structured practices that help you make curiosity a repeatable skill that strengthens team culture.

What makes curiosity important for one-on-one leadership meetings?

Curiosity shifts one-on-ones from status updates into meaningful conversations that surface hidden challenges and fresh ideas. Instead of telling, you ask and listen, which reveals insights that help individuals grow and feel valued. This builds stronger relationships while surfacing problems before they escalate. Curious As Hell provides leaders with techniques to turn one-on-ones into high-impact opportunities for trust and progress.