So You Want to Be More Curious? Curiosity Takes Practice.

Since retiring from headship in June 2022, I've had the privilege of speaking with hundreds of school leaders across the country. One consistent theme I discuss is the idea that we, as school leaders, should shift our mindset from seeing leadership as a job to embracing leadership as a professional practice. Professionals in fields like medicine, law, and therapy refer to their work as a practice. Doctors speak of their medical practice, lawyers of their legal practice, and therapists discuss their clinical practice. Over time, they refine their skills, expand their knowledge, and develop wisdom by continually honing their craft. Their professional practice evolves alongside them, allowing them to stay adaptable and responsive to the needs of their patients or clients.

The same is true for those of us who work in schools. I remember the excitement at our opening meetings in the fall of 1997, when the district announced funding for six internet-connected computers. At the time, there were fewer than 100,000 websites in existence, and many of my colleagues were unsure how this new disruptive technology would benefit their classrooms. I asked for one of those computers and it led to one of the most memorable moments of my early teaching career.  While searching online for a suitable play to direct with students that year, I stumbled upon the script for The Princess Bride and decided to adapt it for the stage. While I likely breached several copyright laws (unbeknownst to me at the time), the experience was unforgettable for both myself and my students. 

At Leadership+Design, we often say that educators are experience designers. I believe that is true for anyone who works in schools. Just as my teaching evolved over the years, so too has my leadership practice. The administrator I was at Worcester Academy in 2004 was not the same head of school I was at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in 2018. My practice as a leader changed as I changed. The practice grew as I grew.

This brings me to a key point: if we want to design meaningful and relevant experiences for students, we need to make curiosity a foundational element of our work. And like any skill, curiosity can be practiced and cultivated.

In my talks, I often reference The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership as a valuable guide for approaching our work with a commitment to our personal practice as leaders. For many L+Dooers this will be a familiar resource but let’s look at it from a slightly altered lens. Three of these commitments, in particular, resonate when we consider leadership as a practice:

1. Commitment 2: Learning Through Curiosity – This commitment encourages us to view every interaction as an opportunity to grow in self-awareness. Curiosity becomes a path toward rapid learning.

2. Commitment 7: Generating Appreciation – Practicing appreciation enhances our leadership by making us more attuned to the positive in our work and those around us. It affords the opportunity it to express gratitude.

3. Commitment 9: Living a Life of Play and Rest – This speaks to the importance of joy, improvisation, and laughter in our work, making curiosity a natural extension of a life lived with balance.

By combining these commitments, we build a strong foundation for treating our work as a professional practice. I feel that everyone who works in a school is engaged in the work of leadership. If you are an advisor, you are leading the experience your advisees have every week. Coaches, dorm parents, support staff. Everyone in a school contributes to the experience you are collectively designing for your students. The educator or leader we are today is not the same version after years of working with young people—it’s a constantly evolving practice shaped by experience. So how do we become more curious? What might that part of our practice look like? I believe that the simple and small things we can do everyday can shape the way we learn how to be curious in all aspects of our work. 

In her book Art Thinking, Amy Whitiker discusses this idea. She states that curiosity is central to creative work and how inquisitive people feel, how open to new ideas, how driven by the joy of learning, and how tolerant of the necessary distress in embracing the new is where the magic happens. Our friend and colleague Natalie Nixon in her book The Creativity Leap talks about how creativity is the toggle between wonder and rigor. When we are in the wonder state, we are daydreaming, asking what if questions and taking time to pause and reflect. When we are in the rigor state we are focused on details, there is discipline in our work and we are engaged in incessant practice. Being curious is ultimately about a way of being in the world and what it means to be curious is more about how we experience life than it is about taking a class or attending a professional development training. Many of us are already exercising this muscle, we just don’t realize it.

So How Do We Become More Curious?

Curiosity is not just a fleeting trait; it’s a way of being. To cultivate it, we need to integrate small, intentional practices into our daily lives:

1. Embrace a Beginner’s Mindset – Commit to trying something new, whether it's learning to play an instrument, picking up a foreign language, or tackling a new hobby. A beginner’s mindset opens the door to childlike wonder and exploration. When I picked up the ukulele that had been sitting in a corner for years, it forced me to be a beginner again. Something we often ask students to do on a regular basis. Being in the space of a beginner reminds us that we can learn and grow from those experiences. 

2. Capture Your Curiosity – Consider dusting off an old film camera or trying photography with a deliberate, slow approach. Film photography forces us to be patient and intentional, making us appreciate moments in a deeper way. Documenting your curiosity—whether through photos, journaling, or sketching—keeps you connected to your experiences and reflections. Have the photo lab, yes they still exist, make prints of your photos and flip through them. Even better, don’t get the film developed right away. Wait for some time to go by and then look back to see what you captured. What insights do the images provide you about what you were most curious about?

3. Explore New Interests Wherever You Go – As a head of school, I often traveled around the world to meet with parents and alumni. I made it a habit to visit local record shops in every city I visited. Sifting through vinyl records was a moment of mindfulness and discovery for me. Whether it's visiting a record shop, bookstore, or museum, give yourself permission to explore with no agenda other than curiosity. Engaging in conversations about things you're passionate about with people you don’t know offers ample opportunities for you to be curious about something you have in common with each other.

Practicing Curiosity as a Daily Habit

I will admit that life in schools is often a battle with the tyranny of the clock. We never feel like we have enough time to devote to these things that may bring us joy and make our work more meaningful but the reality is time doesn’t discriminate. Each of us has the same 24 hours in a day and if we interrogate how we are using our time, odds are many of us are spending hours a week on our digital devices, wasting time away. Evaluating your daily rituals, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, even 30 minutes a day is achievable if we commit to ourselves and our practice. Research shows that if you start a new habit, within 66 days that habit will likely stick. I also encourage educators to seek out communities outside their schools. Community can come in the form of going to a yoga class where you are in community with others. Some of you might volunteer, you might find community in your place of worship, you might commit time to taking a class about something you're passionate about. Even making time to  work out with friends, or be part of a community garden project, these external communities are rich with opportunities for us to be curious about ourselves and others because they give us a chance to explore different parts of ourselves and learn from those around us.

Fostering curiosity doesn’t require grand gestures; it begins with small, intentional actions. Set a daily goal to ask a new question or discover something unfamiliar. Take 10 minutes to explore a new topic, observe something different in your surroundings, or participate in a curiosity challenge. Evaluate and create your digital intake. What digital content are you consuming and does it make you more or less curious about the world?  These simple practices not only enrich your professional journey, making it more dynamic and fulfilling, but also model this essential trait for your students. By practicing curiosity in low-stakes moments, you build the resilience to be curious when it truly matters—whether your school is designing a new schedule or exploring its future in a strategic planning process. In those pivotal moments, your commitment to curiosity will shine, and the muscle you've nurtured will be ready to thrive. How might we as leaders in schools, regardless of our title, commit to ourselves in a way that gives us permission to explore the full range of our potential, embrace continuous growth, and cultivate a culture of curiosity and reflection? 

Curiosity is at the heart of innovation, creativity, and personal growth. If we, as educators, commit to making curiosity a core part of our professional practice, we’ll not only enrich our own lives, but we’ll inspire the same in the young people we serve.