Ten years ago, if you asked a group of people to describe the key attributes of a good leader, you would get answers such as “decisive”, “inspirational”, “articulate”, “charismatic”. Leadership, now as then, can mean all of those things but these days we hear other leadership qualities praised, such as “empathy”, “authenticity” and even “vulnerability”.

These words have all cropped up in conversations about leadership featured in the podcast I co-host with Rachel Birchmore, Coaches On The Couch. One that wasn’t mentioned quite so often was “curiosity”, and yet it ran as a thread through every conversation we had.

This made me wonder why curiosity as a leadership skill seldom makes the list. When it is not only present but fully practised, curiosity can oxygenate creativity and innovation; things we are all going to need more of in the coming months and years if our businesses are to thrive.

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