Turn Curiosity Into Your Leadership Advantage

Why are some organizations thriving while others stall? According to Dr. Debra Clary, the missing piece might be curiosity. In this powerful episode, Dr. Clary—an executive coach, author, and former leader at Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, and Jack Daniels—shares how curiosity fuels performance, unlocks innovation, and strengthens leadership. Backed by research from MIT and decades of corporate experience, she explains how leaders can model curiosity to drive engagement and why it's time to reframe curiosity from a soft skill to a strategic asset.Do you ever wonder why productivity is slowing or why engagement feels stuck? It might not be your strategy—it might be your curiosity gap.Dr. Debra Clary breaks down:Why curiosity drops as we enter adulthood—and how to bring it backThe four zones of curiosity and how they show up in teams: Exploration, Openness to New Ideas, Inspirational Creativity, and Focused EngagementWhy leaders should stop giving answers and start asking better questionsReal-world examples from Coca-Cola, including learning to adapt to different leadership communication stylesThe importance of adapting your curiosity style depending on who you're working withYou’ll learn:How curiosity directly correlates with team performance (based on a commissioned MIT study)Ways to assess your own curiosity using Dr. Clary’s free online toolHow to turn curiosity into a habit that improves your leadership and boosts team moraleWhy “I don’t know—let’s explore it together” might be the most powerful sentence in your leadership toolkitHit play now to learn about the importance of curiosity in your leadership growth.Dr. Debra Clary is the author of The Curiosity Curve and a former senior executive with four decades of leadership experience. She’s passionate about helping leaders create cultures where curiosity leads to innovation, trust, and performance.Take The Curiousity Curve Assessment! The following 6 to 8 minute survey will ask you about your experiences within your organization, and we encourage you to take your time: https://thecultureplatform.com/partner/elevascent/survey/5ba3314de8de3c60cea247e611c3fb49/selfCheck out Dr. Debra Clary's website: https://debraclary.com/curiosity-curveThe Leadership Career Accelerator Build Executive Presence, Influence With Impact & Get PromotedFor more information and resources, visit: https://barrymoline.com/resourcesThe Leadership Career Accelerator podcast is for young professionals, team leads, emerging leaders, new managers, entry-level managers, and first-time managers navigating real-world career challenges. They're ambitious professionals, high achievers, and corporate climbers striving for career advancement, career growth, and professional success. Along the way, they face imposter syndrome, self-doubt, fear of failure, burnout, and career anxiety, often feeling overlooked, undervalued, underpaid, or trapped in stagnation and job pressure. They want to overcome micromanagement, office politics, comparison, and difficult bosses, while learning how to lead through influence, trust, persuasion, and emotional intelligence. These business professionals seek leadership training that builds confidence, executive presence, and authority, with tools like communication skills, public speaking, negotiation, and storytelling. They care about productivity, self-improvement, mindset, decision making, and professional development—all while trying to stand out in complex workplace dynamics. Their goals include earning respect, recognition, a promotion, or a raise, building credibility, gaining clarity, and achieving the visibility and upward mobility they deserve through sharpened leadership skills and true impact.Barry Moline is a longtime energy industry CEO and public speaker specializing in teamwork, leadership, and influence. With extensive experience managing diverse teams, Barry provides practical insights and strategies to foster a positive, productive workplace. Connect with Barry on LinkedIn for more tips on effective leadership and team management, on his website, or email at [email protected] Executive Presence, Influence With Impact & Get PromotedEach episode gives you practical tools to build executive presence, influence with impact, and get recognized and promoted.This podcast is for ambitious early-career leaders facing imposter syndrome, burnout, office politics, and tough bosses. If you’re uncertain about what actions to take to be seen as a leader, you’re in the right place. You’ll learn influence, communication, confidence, and executive presence so you can earn respect, gain visibility, and achieve the promotions and career growth you deserve.Listen:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-career-accelerator/id1855695140Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4AsoxD5yowhg0uN3ibyUw4?si=f367e778f060486bRead:Substack: https://leadershipcareeraccelerator.substack.com/Watch:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsaUixOhhTSYYLnk3BJsVApjAokRHbx7SLlinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-moline/Amazon - CONNECT!: https://www.amazon.com/Connect-Quickly-Collaborate-Success-Business/dp/B08B7LNFQH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2KBTLN659YFKT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Qt3zOMMdnnl7FLImCM8wSronkn2XdFe1hXB-MC4h34E.szXktjw9rKyZlxkiSrKpySPLctVqawiy0dTfMZZ7Jqk&dib_tag=se&keywords=barry+moline+books&qid=1759339735&sprefix=connect+book+barry+moline%2Caps%2C359&sr=8-1