• Event: Learning Technologies UK 25
• Date: 23 April 2025
• Speakers: Stefaan van Hooydonk, Founder, Global Curiosity Institute
• Chair: Sarah Clayton-Jones, Founder & CEO, READ TO LEAD
• Estimated read time: 9 minutes

 

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Quick read summary

This session explored curiosity not as a soft mindset, but as a practical capability with measurable impact on learning, leadership and organisational performance.

At a time when efficiency, AI adoption and short term delivery dominate, curiosity is often praised but rarely designed for. The discussion challenged that gap, showing how curiosity shapes learning behaviour, decision making and adaptability at work.

Readers will gain a clearer definition of curiosity, understand why it declines over time in roles and organisations, and learn what L&D leaders can do to intentionally rebuild it as a capability.

 

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Why curiosity deserves serious attention in L&D

Curiosity has become a popular word in leadership and learning conversations. Yet popularity has not led to precision. Organisations frequently claim to value curiosity, but struggle to define what they mean by it, let alone how to develop it in practice.

The session argued that curiosity is not a personality trait or a nice to have behaviour. It is a capability that shapes how people learn, adapt and respond to uncertainty. When curiosity is weak, learning becomes passive, risk avoidance increases, and organisations default to conformity rather than exploration.

For L&D leaders, this matters because curiosity directly influences whether people take ownership of their development. Without it, even well funded learning strategies fail to translate into sustained capability growth.

 

A more useful definition of curiosity

Rather than treating curiosity as a single behaviour, the session reframed it as a capability with three distinct dimensions.

Curiosity about the world

This is the most familiar form. It relates to exploration, asking questions, and seeking new knowledge about systems, markets, technologies and ideas. In organisational terms, this dimension fuels innovation and creativity.

Curiosity about others

Less commonly recognised, this dimension focuses on genuine interest in people. It underpins empathy, collaboration and relationship building. Curiosity about others is what enables leaders and teams to move beyond judgement and assumption.

An example shared was Abraham Lincoln’s response to interpersonal tension: “I do not like that man, I must get to know him better.” The point was not sentimentality, but the discipline of choosing inquiry over dismissal.

Curiosity about self

The most challenging and often weakest dimension is curiosity about oneself. This includes reflection, self awareness and willingness to question one’s own assumptions. According to the session, this dimension feeds the other two. When self curiosity is absent, curiosity about the world and others eventually degrades.

Participants who had completed the curiosity diagnostic described this as the lowest scoring area, despite its importance for resilience and long term growth.

 

Curiosity, learning behaviour and measurable impact

The session drew on the speaker’s experience as a former Chief Learning Officer leading large scale learning transformation.

In a shift from push learning to pull learning, employees were given permission, funding and access to learning resources. Despite this, only a minority initially took up the opportunity. This prompted a deeper examination of curiosity itself.

A pilot programme focused on building curiosity awareness and simple practices was rolled out to a large population. Follow up analysis showed that participants engaged in significantly more learning activity over time than peers who had not taken part.

While the speaker was clear that learning hours alone are an imperfect measure, the signal was strong enough to suggest a relationship between curiosity and sustained learning engagement.

The implication for L&D is clear. Access to learning is not enough. Curiosity shapes whether people choose to learn at all.

 

Why curiosity is fragile in organisations

A recurring theme was that curiosity declines unless it is intentionally supported.

Permission is necessary but insufficient

Organisations often signal curiosity through values statements or leadership rhetoric. This creates permission, but permission alone does not change behaviour.

As described in the session, permission acts like a welcome mat. It invites exploration but does not provide the skills, language or reinforcement needed to sustain it.

Confidence can suppress curiosity

As people gain experience, they often move from genuine knowledge to perceived knowledge. This expert bias reduces questioning and increases certainty, even when that certainty is misplaced.

Examples from sport and neuroscience illustrated how widely accepted practices persist despite evidence to the contrary, simply because they feel familiar and socially acceptable.

Conformity replaces exploration

The session positioned conformity as the opposite of curiosity. Conformity is efficient, predictable and socially safe. It also limits learning.

From everyday decisions like restaurant choices to organisational decisions about promotion and sponsorship, conformity often wins over curiosity, even when leaders claim to value experimentation.

 

The role of leaders and environment

Curiosity does not exist in isolation. It is shaped by environment and leadership behaviour.

Research shared during the session showed a clear pattern. Teams learn more when their managers learn more. When leaders demonstrate curiosity through their own behaviour, language and questions, it cascades.

Even small signals matter. Leaders who ask questions, express surprise, or show uncertainty create psychological space for exploration. Those who default to certainty and efficiency shut it down.

The physical environment also plays a role. Exposure to novelty, surprise and variation subtly primes people to think more openly. While often overlooked, workspace design and meeting environments can either reinforce conformity or invite curiosity.

 

Curiosity, AI and learning trade offs

The session addressed AI not as a threat or a solution, but as a test of curiosity.

AI systems provide speed and convenience, but they also risk encouraging cognitive offloading. When questions are answered instantly, effort decreases. When effort decreases, learning depth suffers.

Examples from navigation, academic research and everyday technology illustrated unintended consequences. Access increases, but exploration narrows. Popular answers crowd out marginal but valuable ideas.

The key argument was not to reject AI, but to be intentional. Curiosity depends on building internal knowledge, not delegating thinking entirely to tools. Without that foundation, people ask weaker questions and rely on surface level understanding.

For L&D, this raises an important design challenge. How do learning strategies encourage thoughtful use of AI while still developing critical thinking and reflection?

 

Practical application for L&D leaders

Questions leaders should be asking

• Where does curiosity break down in our organisation, permission, skills, or environment
• Which dimension of curiosity is weakest, world, others or self
• How do our leaders model curiosity in visible, everyday ways

Signals to watch

• Learning resources are available but underused
• Middle managers prioritise efficiency over exploration
• Failure is discussed rhetorically but avoided in practice

Common pitfalls

• Treating curiosity as a value rather than a capability
• Assuming curiosity is innate and cannot be developed
• Relying on AI tools without addressing question quality

What good looks like in practice

• Leaders ask more questions than they give answers
• Learning programmes include reflection and experimentation
• Curiosity is discussed in performance, development and leadership conversations

 

Key takeaways

• Curiosity is a learnable capability, not a personality trait
• It has three dimensions, curiosity about the world, others and self
• Permission alone does not sustain curiosity, skills and reinforcement matter
• Leaders play a decisive role in shaping learning behaviour
• AI increases the importance of asking better questions, not fewer

 

Quote of the session

“Curiosity is about seeking, conformity is about keeping.”

Stefaan van Hooydonk, Founder, Global Curiosity Institute

 

Final thoughts

Curiosity is often spoken about as an abstract virtue. This session made a more practical case. Curiosity shapes how people learn, how leaders lead, and how organisations adapt under pressure.

For L&D leaders, the challenge is no longer whether curiosity matters, but whether it is being intentionally designed into learning strategies, leadership development and everyday work. In an environment shaped by speed, AI and constant change, curiosity may be one of the few capabilities that consistently compounds over time.

 

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Speakers

Stefaan van Hooydonk, Founder, Global Curiosity Institute. Focused on research and practical application of curiosity in individuals and organisations.

Sarah Clayton-Jones, Founder & CEO, READ TO LEAD. Specialising in leadership development and learning strategy.

 

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