The Power of Open Curiosity in Coaching

This blog is adapted from Episode #89: Curiosity: Your Key to Creativity, Growth, and Well-Being

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

Albert Einstein 

Curiosity is a transformative force, quietly shaping how we approach ourselves, others, and the world around us. As a coach, curiosity is part of my everyday work.

But recently, I gained a fresh personal insight into its power and an understanding of how it fosters openness, creativity, and new possibilities.

In this blog, I’ll reflect on the importance of curiosity: how to be curious in conversations, how to be curious about others, and how curiosity transforms our thinking and relationships.

By leaning into curiosity, we unlock insights, grow beyond limitations, and inspire others to do the same.

When Was Someone Last Curious About You?

Think about the last time someone was genuinely curious about your thoughts or feelings.

Perhaps a coach, friend, or colleague asked you a thoughtful question with no agenda.

Just a desire to understand you better. I had this experience on a walk with a friend. She asked a question about something I was grappling with, and her curiosity created a space of safety.

This helped me open up, explore the situation more deeply, and see new possibilities I hadn’t considered before. This is the power of shared curiosity.

It invites us to see challenges in new ways, uncover fresh perspectives, and approach problems differently.

Why Is Curiosity an Important Skill for Coaches?

Curiosity shifts us from fear to creativity. It helps us move away from tried-and-tested paths and toward bold, new ideas. This transition from convergent to divergent thinking unlocks our potential.

Children exemplify this natural state of curiosity with their boundless wonder about the world. As adults, we often lose this magic amidst our responsibilities and routines.

Yet, curiosity allows us to rediscover the extraordinary in the ordinary. Being curious is also an essential part of the competencies required to qualify as an ICF coach.

Under the competency, Embodies a Coaching Mindset, the ICF highlights the necessity for coaches to develop and maintain a mindset that is open, curious, flexible, and client-centred.

This competency teaches coaches to be responsible in engaging ongoing learning and self-reflection, fostering an environment where curiosity drives growth. 

By cultivating curiosity, coaches can better understand their clients, explore diverse perspectives, and create meaningful, growth-focused conversations.

We teach more about this skill in our Level 1 Coach Training Programme.

The Neuroscience of Curiosity: Why Questions Matter

Curiosity isn’t just a mindset. It’s wired into our brains. Neuroscience shows that asking questions activates the brain’s neural pathways, prompting connections and unlocking new possibilities.

Here’s how questions work to stimulate our thinking:

• It activates the brain’s network – Questions trigger neural connections that expand thinking and spark creativity.
• It helps us focus on our thought processes – Once a question is posed, the brain concentrates on finding an answer, blocking distractions.
• It promotes action – Questions encourage the brain to plan for future behaviour, making action more likely.

Questions are powerful tools for self-discovery and problem-solving, helping us and those we interact with uncover solutions and insights.

It can help to boost critical thinking and also help us generate powerful questions when coaching! If you need some inspiration on questions to ask, you can check out our blog on 100 powerful coaching questions.

So, How Can We Be More Curious?

Curiosity begins within. Curiosity isn’t a fleeting state – it’s a discipline. It requires persistence to keep asking questions and exploring deeply. Being curious starts with ourselves.

When we face a challenge, curiosity helps us dig deeper by asking:

• Why do I think this way?
• What’s happening beneath the surface?
• What else could be possible?

Recently, I noticed recurring tension in my stomach. Instead of ignoring it or succumbing to worry, I decided to approach it with curiosity. Each time the sensation returned, I asked myself:

• What’s going on here?
• What am I feeling or thinking?

Over time, I traced the discomfort back to a specific worry. By gently addressing the root cause, the tension eased, and the pain disappeared. This experience reinforced how powerful curiosity can be for self-awareness and healing.

Here are Six Practical Tools to Develop Curiosity

1. Use the Power of “Hmm”

Curiosity often begins with a small spark – an observation, a question, or even a pause. Starting with a simple “Hmm…” creates that pause, signalling our brain to slow down and explore. It invites us to step back from immediate reactions or assumptions and instead shift into a state of wonder.

This seemingly small act can be transformative. The “Hmm…” serves as a moment of openness, a cue to suspend judgment and dig deeper. When followed by “I wonder…”, it nudges us to frame our curiosity as a question, which activates our brain’s natural problem-solving and exploratory tendencies.

For example, if faced with a challenging situation, you might think:

• “Hmm… I wonder why this is happening.”
• “Hmm… I wonder what’s underneath this reaction.”
• “Hmm… I wonder how I could approach this differently.”

This practice of pausing and wondering opens the door to possibilities that might not be immediately visible.

It encourages us to look beyond the obvious and consider perspectives we may not have initially seen.

When we approach conversations with a spirit of curiosity, we are open to what we might hear. We suspend our preconceived ideas of what is possible and open up to areas we never even dreamed of. 

In summary, being curious with another person is powerful – together we are opening up ideas and new ways to approach things. 

2. Adopting Convergent and Divergent Thinking

In coaching, we talk about the idea of convergent and divergent thinking. These two ways of thinking serve as valuable tools to approach challenges and generate innovative solutions without limiting ourselves. 

Convergent thinking: We narrow our thinking.
Convergent thinking encourages us to focus on one thing, either a problem or a goal and examine potential actions to achieve it. During this process, we narrow our thinking, carefully analysing and evaluating various options, often leading to the most promising solution. 

Divergent thinking: We don’t constrain ourselves. We explore as many ideas.
Divergent thinking is where we open up all the ideas possible without judgment or constraints. We think outside the box and discover unique and unconventional solutions to our problems or goals. By combining both convergent and divergent thinking, we create a balanced and effective problem-solving approach.

3. Engage With Art and Nature

Take your questions for a walk or to an art gallery. These environments often spark fresh perspectives that can help us break out of our routine thinking patterns and approach challenges differently.

For example you can seek inspiration in art. Look at paintings, sculptures, or photographs and ask yourself questions like:

• What story is this piece telling me?
• What emotions does it evoke?
• How does this connect to my own experiences or challenges?

4. Journal

Writing down questions and reflections encourages deep self-exploration.

Consider prompts such as:

• What could happen if…?
• What connections am I not seeing?

We share more journals prompters in our guide that you can use.

5. Ask “What Else” – Technique for Leaders and Coaches

Curious leaders inspire trust and creativity by fostering open dialogue. Instead of focusing solely on immediate tasks, they create space for exploration and collaboration. When leading conversations, try asking:

• What’s possible here?
• What ideas do you have?
• I’m curious about your thoughts on this. 

Such questions help uncover hidden potential, encourage intellectual curiosity, and strengthen relationships within teams. We can be curious by having a few questions in our coaching toolkit to help us. 

Asking ‘what else’ is amazing. Try asking ‘what else’ a number of times. Sometimes, something magical happens the 3rd or 4th time of asking! 

When you are stuck and not sure what to ask, start any question with the word ‘what’ and see what happens. When you do this, other questions like ‘What would you like to do’ or, ‘What did you notice’ or ‘What’s next.’ will come through naturally. 

‘What’ is a really powerful tool in our coaching toolkit. Remember to aim for open-ended and curious questions this week and see what happens. 

About the Author

Jean Balfour is Managing Director of Bailey Balfour and Programme Director of our ICF Accredited Coach Training Programmes. Jean is passionate about helping people to have good conversations both at work and at home. She believes that coaching is a life skill and that you never regret learning to coach.

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