11 ways to make leadership skills contagious

The best leaders share a few predictable traits: They’re curious, self-aware, and genuinely invested in their team’s growth. But there’s a big difference between having these traits and developing new leaders to embody them as well.

A 2022 study published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes found that when leaders visibly act with curiosity—by questioning, learning, and exploring—they signal to team members that the environment is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.