The Curiosity Effect: Why Better Questions Build Better Work
In research, marketing, and leadership, the quality of your outcomes is often a direct reflection of the quality of your questions.
This might sound simple. But we’ve found it’s one of the most overlooked and transformational ideas in how organizations grow.
Too often, teams rush to answers. But at GWD (in collaboration with our brilliant strategic partners at IMA), we’ve seen the opposite to be true: The best outcomes come from slowing down long enough to ask why and from building the systems and cultures where curiosity can thrive.
This blog brings together the full arc of our email series, The Curiosity Effect, into one cohesive conversation. Inside, you’ll learn what it takes to lead with inquiry, build cross-functional collaboration, and create cultures that don’t just tolerate questions but rely on them.
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Part I: The Psychology of Business Curiosity
Curiosity isn’t a personality trait. It’s a leadership tool.
In our work, the teams that move fastest and smartest aren’t necessarily the ones with the most data or the most budget. They’re the ones who know how to pause. To reflect. To challenge assumptions. To stay just uncomfortable enough to make smarter decisions.
Curiosity unlocks:
- Better research design
- Stronger cross-functional alignment
- More useful messaging
- Deeper trust inside teams
- Better decision-making over time
Try asking:
- What are we solving for, really?
- Are we measuring what actually matters?
- What aren’t we seeing yet?
Part II: Asking Better Questions Across Disciplines
Research wants rigor. Strategy wants clarity. Marketing wants traction. Leadership wants results.
So how do you bring those voices together?
You start with better questions. The kind that invite nuance, uncover tension, and align teams around shared outcomes (not just shared deliverables).
Case in Point: Maria College
Maria came to us asking for a geographic targeting mix model to guide ad spend. But our first step wasn’t to run numbers. It was to get curious.
What we found was that they didn’t just need a model; they needed a message, too. The degree program lacked a clear value proposition, and without it, even the best model would be built on sand.
So we:
- Defined their value prop
- Identified key audience personas
- Built messaging rooted in identity and aspiration
Only then did we model spend. The result was a 20% lift in enrollments in just one month.
Lesson: Curiosity saved them time and money and gave their work meaning.
Part III: Building a Culture of Inquiry
Insight isn’t sustainable without a culture to support it.
If curiosity only lives in your research phase, or only in one department, it gets buried. But when it’s embedded in your meetings, your strategy docs, your onboarding, your feedback loops… it becomes infrastructure.
What does that look like?
Questions are rewarded, not rushed
“I don’t know” is safe to say Decision-making is transparent Feedback is part of the flow Curiosity is systematized — not siloed
Case in Point: A Multi-Campus Messaging Strategy
When we worked with a higher ed system on messaging strategy, we didn’t walk in with a recommendation. We walked in with a question:
What does success look like — to you?
That question opened the door to deeper truth:
- Disparities in support across campuses
- Misunderstood student needs
- Gaps in leadership perception
Because we started with inquiry, we built messaging that worked across campuses — and resonated with students on the ground.
From the Team: Final Thoughts on Curiosity
Dr. Jack’s Take: Curiosity is Design
“Curiosity isn’t a personality. It’s a system. The best outcomes come from designing for inquiry at every stage. That’s how you prevent assumptions from becoming strategies.”
Pro Tip: Build questions into your tools. Into your dashboards. Into your debriefs. Inquiry should be baked in, not added on.
Patti’s Perspective: Curiosity Creates Safety
“I’ve been in rooms where people had incredible questions but didn’t feel safe asking them. And that silence cost the team time, clarity, and results.”
Pro Tip: Model the pause. Say “I don’t know.” Make space for disagreement. That’s what creates alignment and trust.
Yeliza’s Approach: Make Curiosity Operational
“To me, curiosity isn’t theoretical — it’s tactical. If your team can’t ask hard questions at the start, they’ll struggle with execution later.”
Pro Tip: Before kicking off anything, ask: What assumption are we making that we haven’t validated yet?
Final Take
Curiosity isn’t a soft skill. It’s a strategic one.
And it’s not just the start of the process. It’s the throughline. It’s what turns siloed departments into shared momentum. It’s what turns messaging into meaning. And it’s what turns insight into action.
If you want better outcomes, ask better questions.