#35 The power of curiosity
#35 The power of curiosity
Finding inspiration from curious female leaders
Who gets to be curious? Even today, society tells women to sit pretty, be kind, and be respectful. This expectation risks making us invisible, instead of fostering curiosity.
Women in tech are no exception.
What does the opposite of curiosity look like to you? To me, the opposite of invisibility is questioning things. It’s about being curious.
Curiosity pushes you to try things outside your comfort zone, even when you’re unsure of the outcome.
It can also help you overcome impostor syndrome. When you’re focused on learning and exploring, you spend less time judging yourself.
It’s worth talking to women in tech who are known for their curiosity. We can draw inspiration from them.
To do that, I spoke with three women leaders I know from both my personal and professional life who have inspired me with their curiosity.
In this conversation, I ask them two questions:
How do you feed your curiosity? What do you do daily, weekly, or monthly to stay curious?
What impact does your curiosity have on your work?
Let’s see what they say.
Amanda Gelb – UX Researcher and Manager
Amanda is a seasoned UX researcher and manager (Lyft, HUGE, Google) turned independent researcher. These days, she is hired by both early-stage startups and large organizations to conduct end-to-end research and strategy projects, create bespoke workshops and training for teams of all sizes and disciplines, and professionally moderate interviews. Outside of her professional endeavors, Amanda is a devoted experimenter and maker- writing a visual book based on her research into what questions lead to fruitful conversations, testing and tasting new cookie recipes, and running after her greatest creations, her 3 little kids.
How do you feed your curiosity? What do you do daily, weekly, or monthly to stay curious?
“I feed my curiosity by embracing a “tourist mindset” every day, which means I approach my surroundings as if I’m seeing them for the first time. This mindset keeps me open, imaginative, and ready to notice the small details that I might overlook, especially in the built environment—like the patterns in tiles on the sidewalk or the absence of something that should be there. My children are my greatest teachers in this regard; their natural curiosity and wonder inspire me to approach problems and opportunities without bias, with a fresh perspective, and a whole bunch of patience!
Daily, I take a few moments to observe the built environment around me, whether it’s on my commute or during a walk. I also make it a point to ask at least one question a day that pushes me to think deeper or differently, whether it’s about a user research project I’m working on or something as simple as why a street sign is placed in a certain way. I jot down these questions in a notebook that serves as a kind of question log. Weekly, I set aside time to explore something new—this could be reading about an unfamiliar subject, visiting a new place, or trying a new baked goods technique. Monthly, with close friends, I reflect on these experiences and consider how, if at all, they’ve shaped my thinking and approach to challenges.”
What impact does your curiosity have on your work?
“My curiosity drives me to constantly question and explore, which has a direct impact on my work as a UX Research leader. It pushes me to dig deeper into problems, not settle for the obvious answers, and to always look for the “why” behind user, client, or stakeholders’ actions. By practicing curiosity daily, I cultivate a habit of inquisition that keeps my research rigorous and insightful. It also helps me approach my business with a spirit of exploration and innovation.
I see life as a prototype and my business and hard-learned research expertise are no different- I love experimenting with different methods, workshop activities, or visual frameworks in my work. Applying a lens of curiosity creates a safe space for me to test out these new approaches, quickly learn what works and what doesn’t, and evolve my approach for the next time.”
Kax Uson – Head of Product and allWomen Lead Instructor
Kax is a Filipino living in Barcelona. She has 20 years working in tech and over 10 of those working in product. Her last official role as head of product for a global organization of 100+ cross-functional professionals, managing a team of 12 product managers. She spends her days building her startup, Magical Audios, and coaching Women in Product and aspiring Product Leaders to build a career that they find fulfilling and enjoy. She’s also one of the lead instructors for AllWomen’s Product Management courses and writes a newsletter about the highs and lows of a career in Product Management, building a startup, and all the human mess in between. Her secret dream is to open a bookstore and become a pop star.
How do you feed your curiosity? What do you do daily, weekly, or monthly to stay curious?
“In my opinion, staying curious is a matter of mindset. And my mindset is that:
The Universe is too big. And the World is too rich.
There are many experiences to be had.
And there are many stories to be told.
I haven’t encountered even barely less than a fraction of the perspectives humanity holds.
And isn’t that amazing!
What else can I find out today?
How do I feed my curiosity? I try to have as many experiences as I can or I try to get to know other people’s stories as often as possible. Like most people, I read books, I travel, I listen to podcasts. I also like to ask people for their opinions about certain topics. Or I’m just open to whatever stories people want to share with me.
A great starting point is finding out what people are excited about, what worries them, what’s important to them, and what pisses them off — understanding there is such a great starting point to understand the richness of people’s backgrounds and values.
And then I write. It helps organize the things I thought I understood only to find out a few sentences in “shit, I know nothing”, and then we start the process all over again! Just being open to the reality that there’s so much to know helps making every single thing an opportunity to know just a bit more than a few seconds ago.”
What impact does your curiosity have on your work?
When it comes to building a startup: “It keeps me excited! Every day I have a new question about our users, about the market, about how we’re building – and it’s such a wonderful feeling that every day there are always new things to find out, to try, to see. This makes research and experimentation feel like more than just a part of the product development process and a necessary activity to do. It also helps keep the motivation up, especially on the days when the numbers are slow to grow (if at all). Because it helps keep me in the mindset of “Ok let’s figure out what’s going on” vs “We’re failing! We suck!” Sometimes it can be overwhelming though and it can lead to analysis paralysis, so there’s a balance to strike there.”
When it comes to being a coach: “It helps me build a rapport with my clients. It helps me understand their context, motivation, needs, goals, and more. Which is pretty much key to effective coaching. It also helps keep me updated. Most of my clients are women in tech, specifically Product Managers. So understanding what the landscape looks like right now, what the industry is talking about, and what new framework is being invented or renamed helps me speak the language of the women I’m coaching.”
Zalihata Ahamada Lafeuille – Design Ops Manager and UX facilitator
Zalihata is a seasoned independent Design Ops Manager and UX facilitator with over 20 years of experience, specializing in developing tailored processes that foster collaboration and skill growth within design teams. She has led design operations for large teams at Glovo and Payfit and is also an entrepreneur offering services in user research, design strategy, and mentoring. Passionate about diversity and social justice, Zalihata is dedicated to creating impactful and inclusive work environments.
How do you feed your curiosity? What do you do daily, weekly, or monthly to stay curious?
“My curiosity is fed by the arts in general. Every day, I read a lot of books in many different domains and it helps expand my way of seeing and understanding the world. Novels, short stories, professional books, scientific essays, news articles, graphic novels, comic books, or even Instagram or LinkedIn publications, it all feeds my imagination and spirit.
The other forms of art that challenge my curiosity are music, dance and movies. I often use the shuffle or suggestion functions of my music streaming services to open my ears to new artists and new sounds. I also try to learn new dances as often as possible.”
What impact does your curiosity have on your work?
“My curiosity helps me stay interested in the domain. As a person with Attention Deficit Disorder with strong Hyperactivity, I need to be stimulated to find balance. Otherwise, I get bored or lose motivation. So curiosity is an essential part of my life as it helps me see my day-to-day activities from new angles. For example, I can read a biology book and then look into how we can apply biomimetics to collaboration techniques. So I see curiosity as a way to create fertilization between different domains that could help me thrive in my personal or professional life.”
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This piece is originally published here.
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