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By Chris James<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n When Dr. Debra Clary walks into a room, she brings two things with her \u2013 a sharp mind and an open question.<\/p>\n For the leadership expert, researcher and author of The Curiosity Curve: A Leader\u2019s Guide to Growth and Transformation Through Bold Questions<\/em>, curiosity isn\u2019t just a personality trait \u2013 it\u2019s a measurable skill that can elevate workplaces, revive engagement and even change the way we lead and innovate.<\/p>\n In an age where workplaces are overwhelmed, leaders are stretched thin and employees are quietly disengaging, Clary argues that curiosity isn\u2019t a luxury. It\u2019s a necessity.<\/p>\n \u201cFear and curiosity cannot coexist in the brain,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you are fearful, ask yourself a question and the fear will dissipate.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a simple idea, but one Clary has spent years researching, dissecting and watched it come alive in leaders across various industries.<\/p>\n Curiosity, Clary explains, is biologically powerful: the brain sees anything new as a threat. Even small changes like a new meeting time, an operating manual \u2013 for example \u2013 can trigger survival mode.<\/p>\n She believes when asking questions, curiosity signals safety and invites connection.<\/p>\n That insight sparked the book. But the seed? Surprisingly, it began with a joke, a question and a puzzle \u2013 all within two weeks.<\/p>\n While on a train from Rome to Florence, Italy, an Italian man wanted to tell a joke. \u201cWhat do you get when you ask an American a question? An answer.\u201d She explained she didn\u2019t get the joke but was polite, smiled and nodded her head. Spending the rest of her trip in Italy, Clary noticed Europeans have different conversations \u2013 wanting context of questions before conclusions.<\/p>\n Then came the CEO who turned to her in a boardroom and asked, \u201cCan curiosity be learned, or is it innate?\u201d<\/p>\n And finally, Gallup had released its lowest workplace engagement numbers in history of its reporting.<\/p>\n \u201cI had this hypothesis,\u201d Clary recalls. \u201cCuriosity might be the antidote.\u201d<\/p>\n She hired a team of MIT researchers and three months later, they confirmed it \u2013 leaders with high curiosity levels have teams with significantly higher performance.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when I said, wow. The joke, the question, and the puzzle we have an answer to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Long before publishing, keynote stages or an off-Broadway one woman show, Clary was loading boxes in a Frito Lay warehouse.<\/p>\n Fresh out of business school, she believed she was interviewing for a management role. Instead, she was offered a route driver position but without a guarantee of ever moving off it. The company wanted her to learn from the bottom up.<\/p>\n Clary asked one question \u2013 \u201cAre other women doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n They told her yes, but she wondered if there were other questions she could have asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought \u2013 wait, if there\u2019s other women that are physically doing this, then I can do it. Sign me up,\u201d she recalled. \u201cIt was that beginning and I didn\u2019t have the language of the understanding of that I was just curious but [having] the sense of the more I learn, the better leader I\u2019m going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Years later, the experience would pay off.<\/p>\n She recalls a time when Frito Lay was rolling out a new line of sweet snacks and invited small group from the field to listen to a marketing pitch.<\/p>\n Clary says the executives discussed the data, analysis and the why of having to load the snacks but never considered a simple operational question \u2013 \u201cHow are you going to fit it on the truck?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n None of the executives had the experience of starting on the route truck.<\/p>\n Using her curiosity, she likely saved the company from a costly rollout mistake. Asking questions could also protect organizations from blind spots.<\/p>\n Dr. Debra Clary speaks during her October book launch party at Actors Theater of Louisville.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A relatable lesson in The Curiosity Curve comes from Clary\u2019s daughter, Madeline.<\/p>\n Madeline wanted to make the varsity basketball team despite having skills like dribbling, shooting and speed.<\/p>\n Then she revealed her \u201cwhy\u201d \u2013 she wanted to play with her sister one last year.<\/p>\n Like all supportive parents, she jumped into action, and it changed everything.<\/p>\n She pulled out a piece of paper, and she listed things Madeline told her what she had and didn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n It was an exercise Clary says helped her leadership \u2013 especially when facing big goals with limited resources.<\/p>\n Clary believes they are but not out of malice.<\/p>\n As children, she notes, we ask nearly 300 questions a day. Adults ask around five. Society, she says, teaches us \u201ccuriosity killed the cat\u201d or warns us not to open \u201cPandora\u2019s box.\u201d Then we enter professions that reward having answers, not asking questions. Time pressure does the rest.<\/p>\n When employees bring leaders problems, leaders often solve them. Efficient\u2014but shortsighted.<\/p>\n She urges leaders to ask questions that guide employees to their own solutions.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re helping them think for themselves. You\u2019re building their confidence, and you\u2019re also expressing, \u2018I have confidence that you can solve this\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The research featured in her book uncovered something surprising \u2014 millennials, who now make up 35% of the workforce, are 65% disengaged.<\/p>\n When asked about disengagement in a focus group, Clary recalls them saying: \u201cMy leader doesn\u2019t know me and doesn\u2019t care to know me.\u201d<\/p>\n Not their hobbies \u2014 but their skills, expertise and aspirations.<\/p>\n Clary believes the disconnect is fueling the rise in entrepreneurship, especially for women craving autonomy, flexibility and meaningful contribution.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most beautiful things that\u2019s happening right now is this new awareness of people can be productive anywhere,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to leave Louisville or have to move to Louisville to work for an organization.\u201d<\/p>\n She adds rigid workplaces will continue to lose talent while others who understand flexibility will acquire them.<\/p>\n If Clary were advising a CEO her advice would be simple \u2014 explore curiosity with your employees.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most powerful thing a CEO can say when asked a question is, \u2018I don\u2019t know.\u2019\u201d The question she wishes every leader would start using?<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s the fastest doorway to innovation.<\/p>\n Clary often calls herself a \u201ccuriosity whisperer\u201d \u2014 not because she has answers, but because she\u2019s committed to asking better questions and listening deeply.<\/p>\n She even learns from her own grandchildren, whom she says if they correct her \u201cthey\u2019re probably right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re closer to it because they\u2019ve just learned it.\u201d<\/p>\n For women beginning their own \u201cCuriosity Curve,\u201d she suggests grabbing pen and paper and asking: Then, explore \u2014 through books, podcasts, conversations or new experiences.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the root of curiosity, Clary said.<\/p>\n As readers finish The Curiosity Curve, Clary hopes they recognize curiosity as essential \u2014 not only for brain health but for personal and organizational performance.<\/p>\n \u201cCuriosity can be learned,\u201d she said. \u201cThey can start this journey of getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n For those wondering whether they\u2019re curious, Clary offers a free quiz on her website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s Woman readers can use the QR code below:<\/p>\nWhy Curiosity Matters Now More Than Ever<\/strong><\/b><\/h2>\n
The Leadership Lesson That Started It All<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nAre Workplaces Accidentally Training Curiosity Out of People?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Not knowing doesn\u2019t weaken authority, she explains\u2014it strengthens connection.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.todayswomannow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/3D-cover_The-Curiosity-Curve.png\")
<\/p>\nThe Curiosity Whisperer<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u201cWhat would bring me joy to learn if I learned something new and different?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.todayswomannow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/QR-code-for-the-article.png\")
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