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In my experience when most people face change, they respond in one of two ways:
Power through it (which often leads to burnout and missed opportunities)
Freeze up and avoid it (which leads to stress and missed opportunities)
But there’s a third option. One that unlocks better decisions, more innovation, and surprising clarity:
Curiosity.
Not just surface-level “hmm” curiosity. Real, intentional, repeatable curiosity that helps you see what others miss and maybe stop missing some of those opportunities.
Curiosity is the bridge between change happening to you and you harnessing change to move forward.
In fact, it’s one of the core practices in my new YES AND Framework - a model I am finalizing for a new book and accompanying keynote and trainings to help leaders and teams use change as an opportunity to unlock brilliance.
Here’s how it applies to curiosity, and three ways you can start using it right now:
Y – Yield to What Is, Let Go of What Was, Build Towards What Can Be
Change becomes harder when we waste energy resisting reality. So the first move? Pause and accept what’s really happening.
Ask yourself:
- “What’s true right now that I’m avoiding?”
- “What signals or feedback am I ignoring?”
- “Where am I arguing with reality instead of responding to it?”
Yielding doesn’t mean giving up. It means noticing what is so you can begin building toward what could be.
E – Embrace Uncertainty
The instinct is to try to create the perfect plan before acting. To wait for 100% certainty before taking the first step. To know what exactly is going to happen before we make anything happen.
That, my friend, is the fast path to procrastination and paralysis.
In a changing world, certainty rarely exists. Curiosity helps you move anyway.
Try instead asking:
- “What *could* we try, even though we’re uncertain?”
- “What can we learn by acting, even if our actions ‘fail’?”
- “What is one small step we can take just to see what happens?”
Embracing uncertainty through questions opens doors that “waiting to have it all figured out” never could.
D – Dig Deeper
When we rush to the easiest explanation or quickest fix, we miss the root cause - and the real opportunity.
Curiosity is obviously all about digging deeper, and digging deeper is the key to understanding the change so you can better respond to it.
Ask:
- “Why is this change really happening?”
- “What do we really want to achieve as we work through this change?”
- “What are my people really afraid of, resisting, or tired of?”
The more you dig, the more brilliance you uncover—both in yourself and in your team.
Ready to Say Yes, And?
If you're feeling stuck in change—or you're leading others through it—try this three-part curiosity reset:
- Yield to What Is
- Embrace Uncertainty
- Dig Deeper
These are just three steps from my new YES AND Framework, which I explore in my upcoming book and new speaking/training programs launching soon.
(The other three are “Start Small, Take Small Steps,” “Access and Apply Your Creative Genius,” and “Notice and Nurture Emotions.” Did you catch how, when you put them all together, the first letters spell out “YES AND”? Clever, no?)
If you want to build teams that thrive in change - not just survive it - this is the mindset that makes the difference.
Want to hear this in action?I recently sat down with Penny Zenker, The Focusologist, on my Yes, And podcast, and this is one of the things she spoke about (along with a lot of great information about her “Reset Mindset”). You can listen to the full episode here.
Also! If you are interested in bringing the power of my new YES AND Framework to your team or organization to learn how to stop fearing change and start seeing it as a launching pad to unlock brilliance, let me know! I am taking on a handful of clients for pilot sessions before the book is complete…