Eileen Habelow on Curiosity as a Superpower

Eileen explains that curiosity is a superpower, but not in the way most people think about it. To use curiosity effectively as a leader, Eileen argues you have to do three things: shift your mindset, acknowledge the weight of influence you carry, and communicate in a way that demonstrates authentic interest in other people’s perspectives. 

The more expertise and success you accumulate, the easier it is to default to “I already know what I need to know.” Eileen encourages leaders to move past that belief and stay open to the possibility that other ideas and viewpoints can add to what they already know. At the same time, leaders must be honest with themselves about their positional authority—the reason why, when they throw out an idea in a brainstorm, it often lands as a decision, even when they were looking for input.

Finally, when communicating, leaders should ensure the questions they’re asking are not leading questions or “quagestions” (questions that are really a suggestion) but ones they genuinely don’t know the answers to.