The great Ted Lasso1 (mis2)-quoted Walt Whitman when he said: “Be curious, not judgmental.” If you haven’t seen the Ted Lasso darts scene, take a few minutes and watch. It’s brilliant.
Walt’s quote was much longer; Ted certainly took some liberties, but his sentiment is on point. How does this apply to you, dear earnest L&D practitioner? Well, it absolutely does, but when you’re done reading, send this article to your entire C-suite. I wrote it for them.
Leaders Don’t Just Value Curiosity—They Embody It
When it comes to curiosity, executives are statistical outliers. Studies show that traits like being engaged and curious account for over half (53 percent) of the variability in who rises to leadership roles (Harvard Business Review, 2016). Further, 83 percent of executives say curiosity is actively encouraged in their organizations, compared with only 52 percent of employees who feel the same (Harvard Business Review, 2018). In other words: leaders don’t just value curiosity—they embody it.
But here’s where Lasso/Whitman’s judgment comes into play: while the C-suite is packed with naturally curious individuals who thrive on information and exploration, the majority of employees fall on the other end of the spectrum. Many are less driven to embrace ambiguity or dive deep into abstract ideas. Instead, they learn best when training is clear, behavior-focused, and directly tied to their role.
Research on learning and motivation shows that less curious individuals tend to rely more on extrinsic motivation (like goals, recognition, or compliance requirements) and gravitate toward structured, step-by-step training (Self-Determination Theory, Deci & Ryan). Employees don’t want to chase down the WHY on their own—they want to know what to do and how to do it so they can perform successfully.
Both types of people are critical for your business success. But if you are the final stamp of approval, and you judge that the training is effective because it makes sense to you, then your workers, the people who produce your products, will fail.
What Do Learners Need to DO? Not, What do They Need to KNOW!
That’s why information alone is not training. If you only provide the facts, the naturally curious will thrive, but everyone else will head toward burnout. Training has to do more:
- Spell it out. Provide clear, observable actions; what to do and how to do it must be explicit. Ensure you demonstrate what successful looks like.
- Lock in efficiencies. When shortcuts or tools are discovered, they shouldn’t stay tribal knowledge. Bake them into training so the whole workforce benefits (Loewenstein, 1994; Merck Curiosity Report, 2018).
- Show the ripple effect. People perform better when they see how their role connects to one or two steps before and after. Linking individual tasks to broader workflows increases motivation and reduces errors (Hackman & Oldham, 1976 Job Characteristics Model).
For executives, this means resisting the urge to sign off on training design strategies based only on how you learn: don’t assume your people will “figure it out” the way you did.
Your natural curiosity is a leadership strength, but it can also be a blind spot. To drive real performance at scale, training must go beyond delivering information. It must provide clarity, embed efficiencies, and connect roles into systems, so every employee—not just the curious—can perform at the highest level.
Just Because It’s Pretty Doesn’t Mean It’s Good
It’s tempting to think that if you commission an amazing eLearning module with high-end graphics, sleek animations, and engaging narration, you’ve solved the training problem. But no matter how beautiful the design, if it doesn’t equip learners to do the job, it’s a waste of time, money, and effort.
The workforce doesn’t need novelty; they need actionable clarity. Training that dazzles but doesn’t specify exactly what behaviors to perform will never close performance gaps. As training experts emphasize, training must focus on what people need to DO—not just what they need to know (Clark & Mayer, E-Learning and the Science of Instruction).
When leaders equate engaging information with effective training, they overlook the fundamental truth: information creates awareness, but only training changes behavior.
Information Is Easy, Training Is Strategic
Executives, here’s the takeaway: information is easy, training is strategic. Anyone can distribute information, but only behavior-focused training closes gaps, builds consistency, and scales performance across your workforce.
On my website (www.amychapman.org), I discuss building strategic learning solutions rather than applying training Band-Aids. That means embedding efficiencies so they’re not tribal knowledge, making expectations crystal clear, and connecting each role to the larger process. When employees see not just their own tasks, but also the inputs and outputs that surround them, they understand impact, accountability, and how to contribute to results.
And the results are real. In my own work, shifting training away from information dumps to performance-focused design has cut wasted learner hours by 18 percent and raised critical resource and tool accuracy from 27 percent to over 86 percent and rising. Those are bottom-line impacts that no flashy eLearning module alone can deliver.
Training Must Do More Than Inform: It Must Enable
Your curiosity got you here. But to bring everyone else with you, training must do more than inform: it must enable. The organizations that get this right don’t just share information, they build capability.
That’s how you transform curiosity at the top into a win for the entire workforce. Strategic training is your secret sauce. Or as Ted Lasso would say when he needed a little magic, “Barbecue sauce.”
Curious for More?
Join me next month as I explore my second core professional value: learning is measured through observable behavior change. In case you’re taking notes, my first value is: Information is NOT training. Next month, I’ll tell you more about how to measure real learning, not quiz results. You’ll have to wait until then to find out Value #3, but spoiler alert: it’s the most important one and it will change your business.
Sources
1Ted Lasso is an American sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly.
2 While often attributed to Walt Whitman, it is not found in his writings. A 1986 advice column in The Charlotte Observer is one of the earliest known sources for the quote, according to Snopes.
- Leadership emergence and curiosity (53% variability): HBR
- Executives vs. employees on curiosity (83% vs 52%): HBR
- Motivation differences (intrinsic vs extrinsic): Deci & Ryan, Self-Determination Theory (SDT overview PDF)
- Curiosity as a driver of learning and performance gaps: Loewenstein, The Psychology of Curiosity (1994)
- Curiosity and advancement (promotion, decision-making authority): Merck Group, State of Curiosity Report (2018)
- Role clarity and job design impact: Hackman & Oldham, Job Characteristics Model (1976), foundational research still widely cited in job design literature
- Learning styles and personality (openness, task orientation): Big Five Personality Traits
