Diane caught herself doing it again.
A manager came to her with a problem, and she jumped straight to the fix.
It used to feel good—fast, decisive, in control.
But lately, she could feel it backfiring.
Her team was waiting for her to decide everything. They were executing, not thinking.
So this week, she tried something new.
Instead of giving the answer, she slowed down and led with curiosity.
“Before we fix this,” she said, “what’s actually true here?”
Her operations lead hesitated, then admitted they were working off outdated assumptions.
“Okay,” Diane said, “what else might be possible if we stopped doing that?”
Ideas started flowing.
Different angles.
New energy.
Twenty minutes later, they had not only solved the problem but spotted three bigger opportunities they’d been missing for months.
Jack smiled and said, “That’s leadership. You didn’t slow them down. You sped up their thinking.”
Diane nodded.
“I used to believe my job was to have the answers,” she said. “Now I see it’s to unlock them.”
Takeaway:
Leaders who lead with answers create dependency.
Leaders who lead with curiosity create capacity.
That’s what Strategic Curiosity does—it shifts your culture from reactive to resourceful.
P.S. Want more leadership insights like this one? Check out the channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@aimtowinheartbasedleadersh1574