When Certainty Fails, Curiosity Takes the Lead

Key Takeaways

• Command-and-control leadership isolates teams and prevents innovation when things don’t go as planned.
• Curiosity is a leadership mindset that invites engagement, better thinking, and sustainable performance.
• Asking questions builds psychological safety, trust, and stronger team dynamics.
• Curiosity drives innovation by encouraging cross-functional collaboration and faster learning.
• Leaders who make curiosity a habit outperform those who cling to certainty.

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The pace of change in business today is relentless.

Many leaders still cling to the comfort of certainty – the command-and-control mindset of having all the answers – only to find themselves exhausted and their teams disengaged. In fact, global surveys show a mere 20% of employees feel engaged at work, with disengagement costing the world economy an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity. Clearly, the old playbook isn’t working; the myth of the all-knowing, always-certain leader is proving unsustainable.

So what’s the alternative? Curiosity. Not as a fuzzy nice-to-have, but as a practical leadership strategy. In my book, Curious as Hell, I learned this the hard way. After watching my “perfect” plans unravel and my people check out, he discovered that real leadership means asking questions instead of imposing answers. When certainty fails, curiosity steps up. This blog explores why embracing curiosity is the modern leadership mindset for thriving amid uncertainty – a sharp, human-centred approach any leader can adopt right now.

Why command and control leadership is failing modern leaders

For generations, the “command and control” model taught that a boss must project total certainty and tightly direct the team. Many of us grew up admiring the all-knowing leader who had a plan for every scenario. But this style is now failing modern leaders because it simply doesn’t fit today’s reality. No leader – no matter how brilliant – can predict the future in a world where industries shift overnight and markets evolve in real-time. Trying to control every decision from the top isn’t just unrealistic – it’s exhausting for leaders and stifling for teams.

Command-and-control is also alienating the very people it’s meant to lead. Employees today want to be involved and have their ideas valued, not just be told what to do. As I noted, effective leaders “don’t dictate vision by themselves – they co-create it”, because the best ideas emerge from collaboration. When team members are shuttled off to the sidelines under a know-it-all boss, they disengage and the organization stalls. It’s no wonder that trust in leadership is in crisis – only 21% of employees now strongly trust the leadership of their organization. This lack of trust reflects how outdated top-down leadership has become in an era where agility and engagement are paramount.

Shifting from certainty to curiosity in your leadership mindset

Making the shift from a certainty-driven mindset to a curious one requires humility and a new definition of strong leadership. I’ll admit that I once equated uncertainty with weakness – I thought showing doubt would undermine my authority. Eventually I learned that real leadership isn’t about always being right; it’s about being inquisitive and open to learning. In my own words, “Leaders don’t always have to be certain. They always have to be curious.” When you let go of the impossible burden of having all the answers, you create space for others to contribute and lighten the load on yourself. Adopting a curious mindset means posing questions rather than imposing answers, and embracing the fact that you can lead effectively without knowing everything upfront.

Practically, shifting to curiosity starts at the top. If a leader always pretends to have all the answers, employees will assume that asking questions is a sign of weakness – so they’ll stop asking. By contrast, when a leader is honest about what they don’t know and genuinely seeks input, it signals psychological safety and invites everyone to engage. Many leaders say they encourage curiosity, but their teams often see a different story. A Harvard Business Review study found that 83% of executives believed they encourage curiosity, yet only 52% of employees agreed – and 81% of workers said curiosity was not rewarded in their organization. This gap shows why a true mindset shift is needed: leaders must move beyond lip service and actively model curiosity in their day-to-day behaviour.

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"Leaders don’t always have to be certain. They always have to be curious."

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Leading by asking questions builds trust and stronger teams

Leading with curiosity isn’t just a nice idea – it directly builds trust within your team. When you lead by asking questions and showing vulnerability, you demonstrate trust in your people, which in turn earns their trust in you. As I share in Curious as Hell, “we wait for trust before being vulnerable, but the moment we show vulnerability, we create trust”. Admitting “I don’t have all the answers here – what do you think?” can be incredibly powerful. It tells your team that their insights matter and that it’s safe to speak up. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, many leaders saw a surge in employee goodwill when they were candid about uncertainties and actively listened to front-line concerns. Employees respond positively to leaders who show they’re human. When leaders communicate openly and involve others, it creates a bond of trust and shared purpose.

When all three components of leadership – clear communication, support for change, and inspiring a confident vision – are strong, up to 95% of employees fully trust their leaders. A curious, question-friendly leadership style is key to building this kind of high-trust environment. In fact, transparent communication and genuine listening are consistently linked to stronger engagement and trust outcomes. Industry analysis shows that when leaders excel at painting a clear vision and encouraging input, employees’ trust soars – and when they revert to top-down silence, trust evaporates. The takeaway is clear: by asking questions and inviting your team’s ideas, you create a culture of trust where people feel heard. That trust becomes the foundation of stronger teams, where members collaborate freely and tackle challenges together instead of playing it safe or withholding feedback. In short, curiosity-led leadership turns a group of individuals into a true team.

How curiosity connects leadership and innovation in your business

Curiosity isn’t just a feel-good trait – it has a direct impact on innovation and business performance. When a leader fosters a culture of curiosity, it unlocks new ideas and solutions that a top-down, status-quo culture would likely miss. Research backs this up: organizations that encourage curiosity and continuous learning are 92% more likely to develop novel products and processes, 52% more productive, and 17% more profitable than those that don’t support a learning culture. In other words, curiosity creates the conditions for companies to anticipate change and adapt quickly, rather than being disrupted by more inquisitive competitors.

At a practical level, curiosity fuels innovation in several key ways for your business:

• Promotes creative problem-solving: When curiosity is encouraged, team members feel free to question assumptions and explore alternative approaches. This often leads to creative solutions that wouldn’t surface in a fear-driven, “just follow orders” environment.
• Increases adaptability: A curious team stays alert and agile. Instead of clinging to “how we’ve always done it,” they ask why and what if, allowing the organization to pivot faster in the face of industry shifts or unexpected challenges.
• Boosts continuous learning: Curiosity drives people to keep learning new skills and information. Over time this creates a workforce that is constantly upgrading its capabilities – a fertile ground for innovation and continuous improvement.
• Encourages collaboration and diverse ideas: Curious leaders invite diverse perspectives and break down silos. By asking questions and listening, they spark cross-team collaboration and make it normal for the best ideas – no matter who they come from – to rise to the top.
• Builds employee engagement and ownership: When employees are invited to contribute ideas and ask questions, they feel valued and empowered. Higher engagement means people take more ownership of problems and proactively seek innovative ways to solve them, instead of doing the bare minimum.
• Turns failures into opportunities: In a curiosity-driven culture, setbacks aren’t viewed as disasters – they’re seen as learning opportunities. This mindset reduces the fear of failure and encourages experimentation. Teams that aren’t afraid to try something new (and potentially fail) will ultimately innovate more and learn faster than teams that play it safe.

In sum, curiosity acts as a catalyst for innovation. It creates a workplace atmosphere where new ideas can emerge and be tested, and where learning is celebrated. By embedding curiosity into the culture, leaders ensure that problem-solving and adaptation happen at every level of the organization, not just in a special innovation department. In contrast, a culture that discourages questions or penalizes honest mistakes will quickly stagnate. As I observed, without curiosity, long-term innovation dies – companies that fail to invest in curiosity risk becoming stagnant and obsolete in a world that rewards those who question, explore and evolve. The message for leaders is clear: if you want an inventive, future-ready business, lead with curiosity and watch innovation take off.

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"We wait for trust before being vulnerable, but the moment we show vulnerability, we create trust."

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Curiosity is your competitive edge as a leader

For an individual leader, cultivating curiosity becomes a personal competitive advantage. It sets you apart in how you solve problems, build teams, and respond to change. Unlike the old-school leader who sticks rigidly to the playbook, a curious leader is constantly learning and looking for better ways – which means they spot opportunities and risks sooner. This translates into tangible business advantages. For example, leaders who champion curiosity tend to attract and retain top talent. People want to work in an environment where questions are encouraged and growth is part of the culture, and providing that environment gives you a distinct edge over less adaptive rivals.

As I assert in Curious as Hell, “Curiosity isn’t a soft skill. It’s your competitive edge.” The leaders who embrace curiosity as a core value are playing the long game – and they’re winning. By seeking out diverse perspectives, questioning the status quo, and staying open to new information, you position yourself to innovate continuously rather than being blindsided by change. Curious leaders don’t wait until a crisis forces them to adapt; they cultivate a mindset of always adapting. Meanwhile, those stuck in the certainty mindset risk falling behind in a world that increasingly rewards curiosity and critical thinking. Simply put, the curious leader will outpace the complacent leader every time – because when certainty fails, curiosity is what drives evolution and success.

How Curious as Hell helps leaders build a high-performing, curiosity-first culture

In Curious as Hell, I dive into how you can put all of these ideas into practice and build a high-performing culture of curiosity in your business. I wrote the book from my experience as a CEO who had to unlearn the hard way – and I packed it with the candid stories, insights, and “how-to” frameworks I wish I’d had earlier in my leadership journey. It’s a practical guide that shows you step by step how to shift from a controlling style to a curiosity-first mindset. For example, I detail how to ditch the pressure of having all the answers and instead lead with confident humility, and how to build a culture of curiosity that fuels innovation and engagement on your team. The book also shows you how to ask smarter questions that unlock fresh thinking, turn uncertainty into opportunity, and co-create a vision with your people instead of carrying the burden alone. My goal with Curious as Hell is to give you the tools and tactics to make curiosity not just a personal habit, but a leadership strategy that gets real results.

The beauty of a curiosity-driven approach is that it creates win–wins for both your people and your bottom line. I’ve seen this firsthand at my own company: when we embraced curiosity as a core value, our team’s engagement and innovation soared (even through the toughest times). Curious as Hell is designed to help you foster that same kind of high-performance, question-friendly culture. It’s about moving beyond theory to implementation – changing how you run meetings, how you frame challenges, and how you develop your team’s skills. The payoff for leaders who invest in a curiosity-first culture is huge: more trust, more innovation, and a more adaptable organization ready to thrive in uncertainty. In a business world where certainty is often impossible, leading with curiosity is the competitive strategy that will set you apart. If you’re ready to make the shift, Curious as Hell will show you exactly how to lead boldly and successfully with curiosity at the helm.

Common questions about curiosity in leadership

How can I stop feeling like I need all the answers as a leader?‍

You don't need to be the all-knowing expert. In fact, projecting certainty can limit collaboration and disconnect you from your team. Start shifting toward curiosity by admitting when you don’t know something and inviting your team into the solution. This not only builds trust but also relieves the unrealistic pressure to be perfect. Tyler Chisholm's work offers practical ways to lead with questions and build a healthier leadership mindset.

What are some practical ways to build a culture of curiosity at work?‍

Creating space for curiosity starts with asking better questions, modelling vulnerability, and rewarding input over perfection. You can structure team meetings to include reflection time, encourage experimentation, and normalize not having all the answers. When leaders show that curiosity is respected, teams begin to follow suit. Curious as Hell provides a framework to embed curiosity into your team's everyday routines.

How does curiosity impact leadership performance?‍

Curiosity boosts leadership performance by improving listening, adaptability, and strategic thinking. It helps leaders uncover hidden issues, unlock better solutions, and respond constructively when things shift. When you lead with curiosity instead of control, you create space for better performance at every level. Tyler Chisholm helps leaders turn curiosity into a repeatable leadership advantage.

Why is trust so closely tied to curiosity in leadership?‍

Trust grows when leaders stop trying to control every outcome and start genuinely engaging their teams in dialogue. Asking questions, listening without judgement, and involving people in decision-making signals psychological safety. Trust and curiosity work in tandem: one enables the other. Curious as Hell provides relatable strategies to build both without losing focus or authority.

How do I balance curiosity with action when leading a team?‍

Curiosity doesn't mean indecision. The key is knowing when to ask questions and when to move forward. Structure time for inquiry, set clear decision points, and assign accountability so teams don't get stuck in exploration mode. Curious as Hell equips leaders with a practical balance between curiosity and clarity, so progress doesn't stall.