Curiosity is not a soft skill
It’s how leaders actually make change work.
I was working with a client recently when a leader shared a frustration that I imagine many people have felt during times of change. They said, “I have told them about the upcoming changes and when and what to do, but people just aren’t on board and I don’t understand why they can’t just do it.”
I sometimes envy command-and-control type organisations like the Defence Force, where activity can be mandated and change can appear to come to fruition immediately. But the reality for most of us is that we are enabling change in environments full of people, all with their own opinions, reactions, and concerns.
“Without curiosity, it is easy to label behaviour as resistance.”
This leader’s question came from a place of both frustration and confusion. From their perspective, they had done what leaders are often encouraged to do in that they had communicated the change, provided direction, and made expectations clear. They couldn’t understand why communicating the why, when, how and what wasn’t generating the right action.
I asked whether they had asked their people how they felt about it?
We can spend a great deal of time thinking about how we communicate a change, when we communicate it, and what information people need to hear, but far less time thinking about what we might learn if we created space for people to respond. In many organisations, communication still tends to move in one direction. Leaders tell people what is changing and what they need to do, and then are left wondering why the response feels resistant.
The reality is that our people are often holding important context that is as yet undiscovered or unconsidered. They might have concerns that feel too risky to voice. They might know exactly where the change will create issues in day-to-day work because they are the ones closest to it. They may be relying on workarounds and informal processes that have become so normal over time that no one has thought to mention them, even though those same workarounds may have a direct impact on the success of what is being planned next.
This is why curiosity is not a soft skill.
Curiosity isn’t just a nice-to-have leadership trait. In the context of leading change, curiosity is the gem which allows us to plan better, make better decisions, offer more helpful support. It helps us uncover impacts before they have occurred, concerns before they have eventuated, and support requirements while there is still enough time to do something meaningful about them. It allows us to understand where people may need more clarity, more confidence, or more support well before those gaps begin to show up as disengagement or poor adoption.
Curiosity also gives our people the opportunity to provide feedback in a way that is genuinely useful.
Without curiosity, it is easy to interpret people’s behaviour and label it as resistance. Often there is something far more useful sitting underneath a negative response. There may be uncertainty, pressure, poor timing, low confidence, or competing change that has not been considered.
It also shapes culture in a powerful way. When people are asked thoughtful questions and feel there is genuine room for their perspective, it changes how they experience change. They are more likely to speak honestly, raise concerns earlier, and share insights that can improve what is being designed or delivered. It can also create an ongoing culture of innovation which means change can occur from the inside out instead of top down.
For me, curiosity is one of the most practical capabilities we can embed into leadership and culture, especially in times of change. It helps us understand more, assume less, and respond earlier. Most importantly, it reminds us that successful change is not only about telling people what is coming. It is also about being curious enough to understand what that change means from where they stand.