Curiosity: The Courageous Coach’s Superpower

Melissa
Aug 5, 2025
4 min read

Before you read on, let’s play a quick game.

Look around the room you’re in right now. Pick one ordinary object. Maybe a mug, a plant, or even your phone.

Now ask yourself:

What three questions could I ask about this object that I’ve never asked before?
What might I discover if I looked at it through the eyes of a child?
What story could this object tell me if it could talk?

Take just 60 seconds. Notice how it feels to look at something familiar in a new way. That’s curiosity.

If coaching had a secret ingredient, I’d say it’s curiosity. Not the polite, “tell me more” kind — but the kind that fizzes with wonder, invites surprise, and dares to explore without needing a map.

Curiosity is what lifts coaching from a tidy conversation into an adventure. It helps us step away from judgement, drop the need to have the answers, and instead create space for discovery.

What Curiosity Looks Like in Coaching

Asking with wonder: Questions that sound more like, “I wonder what might happen if…” than, “So what’s the solution?”
Spotting the sparks: Following the glimmer in a client’s eyes or the sudden pause that hints at something unsaid.
Letting go of the plan: Being ready to head down a path you didn’t expect — and enjoying the detour.
Being playful: Curiosity loves a light touch. A smile, a sense of humour, or a creative experiment can unlock so much.

What Curiosity Isn’t

An interrogation. If you sound like a detective with a clipboard, it’s time to pause.
A hidden agenda. True curiosity doesn’t try to lead a client to the “right” answer.
A performance. Curiosity isn’t about asking clever questions to prove you’re a great coach, it’s about genuinely caring.
Nosiness. If the question is more about your interest than their growth, check your motive.

The Link Between Curiosity and Playfulness

Curiosity and play are natural partners. Think of how children learn: they don’t sit down with a manual, they poke, prod, imagine, test, and giggle their way through discovery. Their curiosity fuels their play, and their play deepens their curiosity.

As adults, and especially as coaches, we sometimes forget that play isn’t frivolous, it’s essential. Researcher Stuart Brown describes play as the oxygen of human development. It fuels creativity, problem-solving, and resilience. Brené Brown also reminds us that play is not a luxury; it’s a core part of wholehearted living.

In coaching, playfulness matters because:

It lowers defences. When we bring lightness and play into the room, clients often feel safer to explore tender or uncertain parts of themselves.
It sparks creativity. Play opens the door to new perspectives and imaginative solutions that logic alone can’t always find.
It disrupts patterns. A playful question or metaphor can interrupt well-worn thinking loops and unlock fresh insight.
It makes the work joyful. Coaching can touch on heavy topics, but curiosity paired with play reminds us (and our clients) that growth doesn’t have to feel like drudgery.

Play doesn’t mean being silly or flippant. It’s about bringing a spirit of openness, wonder, and experimentation into the coaching relationship. It’s the courage to say, “Let’s try this,” even if you don’t know exactly where it will lead.

When curiosity meets playfulness, coaching becomes not just a process of change, but an adventure of discovery.

Playful Ways to Stretch Your Curiosity Muscle

Curiosity thrives when we make it a practice — and it doesn’t have to be heavy. Here are some playful ways to give your curiosity a workout:

Everyday Adventures

Curiosity Walks: Go for a short walk and notice five things you’ve never spotted before, a new pattern, colour, sound, or texture.
The “What Else?” Game: With a friend, pick an everyday object (like a spoon) and take turns coming up with as many alternative uses for it as you can in 60 seconds.
Curious Listening: Ask someone about a hobby or interest you know nothing about. Listen as if you’re an alien learning about humans for the first time.

In the Coaching Room

Swap the Question for a Wonder: Instead of asking, try sharing a wonder. For example: “I’m wondering what might shift if you looked at this through the eyes of your 10-year-old self.”
Metaphor Play: Invite your client to describe their challenge as an animal, a weather pattern, or a song, and explore what that reveals.
Silent Curiosity: See what happens if you hold a curious expression or energy without speaking. Clients often fill the space with new insights.

Stretching Curiosity Further

Curious Journaling: At the end of each day, write down the most surprising thing you noticed — big or small.
Ask a Child: If you know a child, ask them how they’d solve a problem you’re facing. Their answers are often wild and wonderfully freeing.
Flip the Script: Take something you “always” do the same way, like your morning routine, and change one element. Notice what it teaches you.

A Courageous Invitation

Curiosity is playful, but it’s also deeply brave. It takes courage to set aside our need to know, to risk not having the answer, and to step into the unknown alongside our clients.

So this week, choose two curiosity practices, one light and playful, one deeper and reflective. Notice not just what shifts in your coaching, but also how it shifts you.

Reflective Questions

When do I feel most playful in my coaching, and what happens when I do?
How might I bring more wonder into my sessions this month?
What am I assuming that, if I stayed curious, might not be true at all?

If you'd like to strengthen your curiosity muscle with support from others, you know where I am.

About Me

I'm a coach, supervisor, and courage cultivator, supporting coaches to lean into vulnerability, embrace their humanity, and show up with courage in their coaching practice and businesses.

Through my work, including The Courageous Coach Programme launching in November 2025, I help coaches move beyond collecting tools and techniques, and instead build the inner foundations needed for transformational coaching.

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