Nobody does Curiosity better than 5-year olds. And Curiosity is one of the five skills that make every leader better (Compassion, Curiosity, Communication, Vision, and Resilience).

Five-year old kids just want to know stuff. They’re interested and open; they have no idea how fish breathe in the water, or why you’re wearing a plaid shirt, or what that person’s favorite song is, or when the sun will set, and they’re not invested in the answer. They just want to know. So they can add that factoid to the other things they know, which helps them build their world view.

As a leader, when you’re curious, you’re open to new ideas, ways of doing things, and feedback, in general. Curiosity is wanting to know more, without being tied to a specific outcome or answer. It’s not judgy, and it’s not about testing people or putting them on the defensive.

Curiosity also leaves space for others to be knowledgeable experts and to contribute to the conversation. What would it be like if you didn’t have to know everything as a leader?

If you don’t have to know everything, then others have to know stuff. And if you don’t have to know everything, there’s room for other perspectives, which is how innovation happens.

If you’re lucky enough to receive 360 feedback that includes information from the people you manage, your sense of curiosity can help you navigate and appreciate what your team is telling you.

Contrast two managers receiving the same feedback from their teams: one who is open and curious, and the other who is not. The “not curious” manager hears the feedback, and immediately formulates a defensive response (and excuses) as to why the employees said what they did.

The “is curious” manager looks at the feedback as important information, and if a piece of that feedback isn’t consistent with what they believe, they ask more questions of the team to understand more about it.

Guess who gets information they can act on? And guess whose team feels heard and valued, and therefore performs better in the long run? Yes, it’s the leader who’s curious!

When you’re open to all possibilities instead of being committed to specific answers or outcomes, surprising results can happen. Your team, who’s likely working closer to the customer than you are, will have insights and information that you won’t have. The best and strongest solutions come when customer insights and information are incorporated into the team’s work.

Ask questions when you don’t know the answers. When you have experts on your team who know more than you do about a topic, they’ll be able to tell if you’re faking knowledge, and it won’t impress them. It will opposite-of-impress them.

But when you give an expert the opportunity to share their knowledge, two things happen: 1) you learn something, and 2) the expert gets an opportunity to add value.

What about bad news? It’s input. And if your team knows that you’re seeking to understand rather than looking to place blame, they’ll share the bad news with you. And then you can do something about it!

When was the last time you used Curiosity as a leader? Tell us in the comments below (because we’re, you know, curious)!

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Compassion is key for anyone who wants to be a people-first leader. And Compassion is one of the five skills that make every leader better (Compassion, Curiosity, Communication, Vision, and Resilience).

You can be a get-stuff-done person, and still have empathy for those on your team. In fact, a people-first orientation will get you better results in the long term — when your employees trust that you care about them as people, they will work hard to be deserving of that trust.

Some people are natural people “savants,” remembering important details of every person they meet, and making everyone around them feel special, important, and included. If you are one of these folks, count yourself as very fortunate, indeed. If you’re like the rest of us, the great news is that you can develop compassion and awareness of others.

Compassion accelerates results in 4 key leadership activities:

1. Recognition
2. Feedback
3. Collaboration
4. Inclusion

Recognition

Compassion is key for authentic recognition. When a team member does a job well, it shouldn’t just be assumed to be a part of their daily work — give credit, express gratitude, and recognize successes. Be specific, focus on your employee, and speak from your heart, and it’ll be easy to reinforce the behaviors and results you want to see (and you’ll see more of them!).

Feedback

Compassion is also important for giving feedback, especially negative feedback. Addressing issues head-on and letting your employees know there’s a problem is much more compassionate than letting them think that everything is just fine and waiting until their performance review to bring up something negative. And when you need to give negative feedback, do so privately whenever possible.

Collaboration

Compassion feeds collaboration. An open and inviting environment allows people to work together more easily and smoothly. They’ll feel more confident in offering opinions and taking risks, which will lead to more innovation over time.

Inclusiveness

Compassion sets the stage for inclusiveness. When every person on the team feels heard and valued, inclusion is a natural outcome. And when you include every member of your team, you’ll be more likely to have higher productivity.

Lack of compassion is one of the reasons that narcissists make terrible leaders; they simply don’t care about people on their team as individuals, and view them as interchangeable, disposable parts. Don’t be a narcissist. Use Compassion to accelerate your leadership results!

What’s the best way a leader has demonstrated Compassion? Tell us in the comments below!

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The best-kept secret of leadership is that there are a million ways to do it right. Everyone has the potential be a great leader. Not just some people. Everyone.

The simple formula for becoming a True Leader combines:

 1. What you stand for, AND
 2. What you’re great at, PLUS
 3. Skills that make every leader better.

Why is this combination so powerful? It brings together your authentic self with time-proven leadership skills. It’s not about just you being you, hanging out, and being all casual about managing stuff. And it’s not just about tried and true leadership skills that don’t take into consideration who you are as a person. You need your principles, your superpowers, and your leadership skills working in harmony. They’re more than the sum of their parts. Kind of like the Power Rangers.

Your principles form the foundation of your identity. They’re the big things that you value and stand for. Like honesty, creativity, competitiveness, efficiency, spontaneity, and harmony.

Your superpowers are the strengths you’re known for. You’ll probably see these things show up in your resume. Stuff like managing, organizing, clarifying, auditing, negotiating, strategizing, innovating, and customizing.

Your leadership skills both enhance and strengthen who you are in service of those you lead. These 5 key traits common to all great leaders are: Compassion, Curiosity, Communication, Vision, and Resilience. Compassion, to let your team know you care about them and have their back; Curiosity, so your open mind allows you to be flexible; Communication, so you can hear and be heard; Vision, to know where you are leading your team; and Resilience, so you can bounce back from adversity, and support your team as they do the same.

True Leaders combine what they stand for with their strengths and leadership skills to form a unique version of leadership that is authentic to them. They know who they are, and they care about being good leaders. While the formula of principles + superpowers + leadership skills is the same for everyone, the results can be wildly different. And all great.

What’s your biggest takeaway from your favorite True Leader? Share it in the comments below!

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