Guard thy curiosity

For many of us, curiosity doesn’t disappear all at once. It fades gradually. Crowded out by responsibility, expectation, and the pressure to appear competent. Yet curiosity is often what allows us to grow, adapt, and lead well in the first place.

Curiosity has shaped much of my own journey. It’s what drew me into science.

Science is built on questions, but it has also taught me that curiosity doesn’t automatically survive pace, pressure, and the constant demand to keep moving forward.

Early on in my career as a cancer research scientist, I worked under the assumption that I always had to know everything, that I had to be right. When something didn’t work, I received it in a negative light and saw it as failure. Over time, however, I began to realise that thriving in science required a different response—one that stayed open to new information and asked better questions instead of rushing to conclusions. In simple terms, it meant learning to stay curious. Experiments don’t always work, systems break, and new technologies can quickly challenge your original ideas. Those moments aren’t something to avoid; they are opportunities to learn. Gradually, this shift changed how I think, helping me see every outcome as useful information and guiding me to ask better questions as I move forward.

But this has gotten me thinking about how the lessons I’ve learned about curiosity as a scientist can be channelled beyond the bench, particularly in how I show up as a leader. As I step into greater leadership responsibility, I noticed similar patterns emerging. Moments that don’t go to plan, whether it be a difficult conversation, a decision that lands badly, a team dynamic that feels strained. All of which could easily be received as a roadblock or interpreted as a failure in my ability to lead. My instinct, at times, was to resolve such challenges quickly or move past them altogether and pretend they don’t exist. Yet the same curiosity that has shaped my scientific thinking invites a different response. What if these moments are not signs that I was failing as a leader, but signals that there is something to learn? What if, instead of rushing to conclusions, I paused long enough to ask better questions—about the situation, about the people involved, and more importantly, about myself? In leadership, just as in science, curiosity creates space to understand complexity, challenge assumptions and the status quo. Beyond that, curiosity doesn’t sustain itself on good intentions alone. Curiosity, after all, is part of our DNA. We don’t need to teach a child how to be curious, however, we need to create environments that protect and encourage that curiosity.

In science, curiosity is protected by the environment you work in—one that expects questions, welcomes uncertainty, and makes space for reflection. Without that kind of environment, curiosity can quickly give way to certainty, defensiveness or a fear of getting things wrong. In much the same way, as leaders, we need to intentionally seek out spaces that invite us to step back, reflect, and ask better questions. For me, one such space has been the Women’s Leadership Network cohort, which I had the opportunity to lead over the past six months. It became a place where I could reflect on my own leadership journey alongside other women at different stages of theirs. While our experiences varied, we shared a common desire to grow as individuals and, as a result, to become better leaders. As we took a deep dive into the GLS materials, we were invited to pause and beyond receiving the content passively, engage in some honest reflection: asking where we may have missed the mark in the past, retracing our steps, and staying curious enough to consider how we might lead differently going forward.

Leadership does not automatically create space for curiosity. More often, it rewards quick answers and decisive action, even when those come at the expense of reflection. And yet, just as in science, it is our willingness to pause, question, and remain open that allows deeper understanding to emerge.

In a world that values certainty over inquiry, choosing curiosity is a deliberate act. But it is one worth making because when leaders remain curious, they remain teachable, and teachable leaders continue to grow long after the plan has changed.

So, the question is this: what environment are you intentionally creating—or stepping into—to guard your curiosity and shape how you show up as a leader?

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Kudzai Nyamondo

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