Why Curiosity Might be Your Most Underrated Work Skill
When people list the skills they think matter at work, the usual suspects come up: communication, leadership, time management, teamwork. All important, no question. But there’s one skill that rarely makes the list yet underpins almost everything else: curiosity.
Being genuinely curious – about how things work, why decisions get made, what other people know – isn’t just pleasant. Research suggests it’s one of the strongest predictors of success at work. And the good news? Unlike some skills that take years to develop, curiosity is something you can start practising today.
What the Research Says
This isn’t just a nice idea – there’s solid evidence behind it. A study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior found that curiosity significantly predicts job performance, even after accounting for personality traits and cognitive ability that are traditionally used to assess potential. In other words, curious people tend to do better at work, full stop.
Research from Francesca Gino at Harvard Business School supports this. Her work found that when people are curious, they think more deeply and rationally about decisions and come up with more creative solutions. She also found that curiosity helps reduce group conflict, because curious people are more interested in understanding other viewpoints than in being right.
And a 2016 study across nearly 500 workers in over 150 different job types found that workplace curiosity directly predicts innovation – curious employees generate more new ideas and approaches.
Curiosity Builds Better Relationships
Curious people tend to ask better questions – and that makes them better colleagues, managers, and team members. When you’re genuinely interested in how someone approaches their work or what challenges they’re facing, conversations become more meaningful. People feel heard. Trust builds faster.
This works in every direction: with your manager, your team, your clients, or your classmates. The simple act of asking “Can you tell me more about that?” rather than nodding along and moving on changes the quality of your professional relationships.
It Keeps You Adaptable
In a workplace that’s changing constantly – new technology, new processes, new ways of working – the people who adapt best tend to be the ones who are genuinely interested in what’s changing and why. Curiosity is the opposite of resistance. Instead of “Why are we doing this differently?”, curious people ask “What could this make possible?”
That doesn’t mean accepting every change uncritically. But approaching new situations with interest rather than suspicion makes you more resilient, more resourceful, and more likely to spot opportunities that others miss.
How to Build Your Curiosity Muscle
Here’s the encouraging part: curiosity isn’t fixed. You can develop it with practice.
Start by asking more questions in your daily work. Not just “what” questions, but “why” and “how” questions. Why do we do it this way? How did you learn that? What would happen if we tried something different?
Read outside your field. Listen to podcasts about topics you know nothing about. Have lunch with someone from a different department. The wider your exposure to different ideas and perspectives, the more connections your brain makes – and the more creative and adaptable you become.
Pro Tip: Keep a “curiosity list” – a running note on your phone of things you’d like to understand better. It could be anything from how your company’s supply chain works to why a particular marketing campaign went viral. When you have a spare 15 minutes, pick something from the list and look into it.
The Curiosity Test
Here’s a quick way to check your curiosity levels. Think about the last time you encountered something you didn’t understand at work.
Did you ask about it?
Look it up?
Or just let it slide?
If you’re letting things slide, you’re not unusual – most people do, especially when they’re busy. But those small moments of “I wonder…” are exactly where professional growth happens. Acting on them, even occasionally, is what separates people who stay stuck from people who keep developing.
Curiosity doesn’t need to be dramatic. It’s not about reinventing yourself or questioning everything. It’s about staying interested, staying open, and remembering that there’s always more to learn – no matter how experienced you are.