The #1 Superpower of Great Leaders is...
CURIOSITY.
Leaders with an insatiable need for power and position can never enter a curious space. Their ego and narrow line of vision keep them captive to whatever will serve their next elevation. They express little curiosity because it doesn't serve them.
We all have a hint of this in us, but we all have access to curiosity.
When leaders practice curiosity, it elevates others and allows more to come forth. Curiosity calls for everyone and everything around it to fully emerge. The best leaders, ideas, products, and solutions are born in curiosity. Great leaders initiate curiosity, then they follow it. That's what sets them apart.
If you're a leader, it's time to wake your dormant superpower.
Superpowers appear fully formed and perfectly used in the characters that carry them, but we forget about their season of discovery. When a young superhero discovers their inner gift, they aren't sure what it is, what to do with it, or how to harness its power. They go through a process of playing with it, practicing with it, and when fully formed, it looks easy. Curiosity is a superpower budding within every leader, but only those who cultivate it harness its power.
Practice your curiosity superpower in 5min
Jot down a response to one of these questions. (1min)
What person would you like to be curious about? (Maybe you've noticed an underutilized skill your team needs more of. Maybe someone is draining the energy of everyone around them. Perhaps there is someone you simply need to get to know.
What idea would you like to try curiosity on? Maybe an improvement was left behind by other urgent needs. Perhaps a current project running at full speed needs a 30min pause with the team developing it to check the dashboard.
What aspect of your leadership do you want to become curious about? Maybe you never take time to ask yourself questions because you're too busy putting out fires. Perhaps you know something is off but have yet to investigate. Maybe you're immensely excited about something but need to give it attention.
Sit with it. (2min) Give yourself 2min to sit and let your mind wander a bit. Where is this coming from? Why haven't you taken the space to consider it? What could the impact be of following the curiosity? Why is this important? What might need further inquiry?
Do Something - (2min) What is your next step? Is it circling up with a team member? Texting a mentor or coach something you need to develop in your own leadership? Planning a 30min whiteboard session to check the dashboard of a project? Once you've decided on your next step, initiate it, so you're on the hook.
If you did it, congrats, you just practiced your curiosity superpower. And there is plenty more where that came from, available to you anytime.
