There’s that moment every leader knows: something feels off, but you don’t have enough information to confidently call it feedback yet.
A plan sounds fine on the surface, but your gut says there’s a missing assumption. Someone outlines next steps, but you can’t quite connect the dots. A project is moving forward, but you have that quiet, familiar spidey-sense that the team is solving the wrong problem.
You feel the urge to say something, but you also don’t want to overstep, derail momentum, or give feedback based on a half-formed suspicion.
This is where curiosity becomes one of the most useful tools you have.
To be clear: this is not a substitute for feedback. Feedback absolutely has its place, and avoiding it doesn’t serve anyone. Where curiosity holds value is as a bridge. A low-pressure way to surface the information you need before you decide whether feedback is actually warranted.
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