The Curious Leader's Edge in Uncertainty: Scott Shigeoka

We talk a lot about curiosity as a mindset. Scott Shigeoka lives it as a practice. Right now he’s driving a 25-foot purple van across the country, finding and documenting the stories of ordinary people making their communities better. He's not just curious about what's possible. He's out there finding out.

In this episode, Mina Seetharaman talks with Scott Shigeoka, author of Seek and Head of Curiosity Cultivation at the Eames Institute, about what distinguishes a genuinely curious leader from a performative one, how power dynamics play into curiosity, how the Curious 100 project reveals the many forms curious leadership takes, and why curiosity, when practiced well, can restore your energy rather than drain it.

Scott was previously on the Creative Confidence Podcast to explore why curiosity is a business imperative. That episode is linked below.

This episode is part of an ongoing series on navigating uncertainty. We're exploring this topic from multiple angles with several guests this year. Also in this series: How to Not Know with Simone Stolzoff and The Decisiveness Crisis in Senior Leadership Teams with Sam Conniff.

Related Resources:

Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World, by Scott Shigeoka — https://scottshigeoka.com

The Curious 100 — https://thecurious100.org

Curiosity Club (free newsletter) — https://scottshigeoka.com

Scott Shigeoka on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottshigeoka

Scott's Curiosity Toolkit (free guide for building curiosity at work) — https://curiosity-toolkit.netlify.app/

Scott's first Creative Confidence interview: Why Curiosity Is a Business Imperative — https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/why-curiosity-is-a-business-imperative

IDEO U's Foundations in Creative Leadership Certificate — https://www.ideou.com/products/creative-leadership-certificate