Why Curiosity Can Outperform Perfect Experience
They said curiosity killed the cat.
Quite a serious accusation, considering we never heard the cat’s side of the story. What if asking a few questions was precisely what kept it alive?
In the workplace, curiosity can feel unwelcomed.
An unfamiliar acronym lands in a meeting. You consider asking what it means, but everyone else is nodding with such conviction that interrupting feels almost rude. You join them, making a mental note to find out later what you have just enthusiastically agreed with.
You are new, everyone seems confident, and “Why?” feels like a dangerous word for something containing only three letters. At FXBO, we value curiosity and asking questions is the path to growth.
Which raises a question of its own: how much could we learn if we felt less pressure to look as though we already knew?
Why Curiosity in the Workplace Deserves More Credit
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 lists curiosity and lifelong learning among the top ten core skills. Half of surveyed employers identified them as core skills for their workforce.
A respectable endorsement for the quality we sometimes apologize for before speaking.
“Sorry, this might be a silly question…”
Research also connects curiosity with performance. A study of 320 participants published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior found that curiosity was positively associated with job performance and added predictive value beyond 12 other cognitive and non-cognitive measures.
That does not prove a curious employee will outperform an experienced colleague. It gives us a reason to look beyond someone’s existing knowledge and consider how actively they seek to expand it.
What Does “Perfect Experience” Really Tell Us?
Experience earns its place on a résumé. Having done something before helps you recognize patterns, avoid familiar mistakes, and approach the next attempt with confidence.
The complication begins when confidence gets comfortable.
“I know how to do this” becomes “This is how I do this” eventually settling into “This is how we have always done this.”
That last sentence can become the office’s favorite chewing gum. Everyone is still chewing, even when the flavor has become stale.
Yes, problem-solving can acquire its own comfort zone. We become so efficient at applying a familiar fix that we stop wondering why we keep needing it.
Curiosity at Work: Same Problem, One More Question
Let us give this argument a Monday morning and two fictional colleagues.
Alex: Experienced, disciplined, and excellent at resolving client issues.
Maya: Newer to the team, dedicated, and interested in understanding why those issues happen.
The problem: Clients keep asking where to find a report.
Alex Knows the Answer
Alex recognizes the request immediately. He sends clear instructions, includes a screenshot, and checks that the client has found the report.
The client is happy. The ticket closes. Alex has handled it well.
Then another client asks the same question.
Fortunately, Alex has a saved reply. Unfortunately, it is becoming rather popular.
Maya Questions the Pattern
Maya reads the previous tickets and tries following the steps herself.
Maya: “What do clients call this report?”
Alex: “Their monthly summary.”
Maya: “And what does the menu call it?”
They look at the screen. The report sits under an internal term that requires a small act of translation.
Maya: “Could we test a label closer to what they’re looking for?”
Her question gives the team a specific possibility to investigate. Alex contributes the client history and helps check whether a proposed label would accurately describe the report. They bring the suggestion to the appropriate team for testing.
Now they can assess whether clients find it more easily and whether those requests become less frequent.
What Did Curiosity Add?
Alex’s expertise resolved the immediate problem. Maya’s investigation opened a possibility for preventing its return.
She did not suddenly acquire years of product knowledge. She noticed a mismatch and asked a question that made Alex’s knowledge useful in another way.
That is where curiosity in the workplace can outperform a familiar response: when it prompts people to reconsider something they have become very good at working around.
Asking Is Only the Beginning: Give the Question Somewhere to Go
Our fictional Monday could have ended differently.
Maya asks about the label. Someone replies, “Clients get used to it.” The suggestion goes nowhere, and Alex’s saved response continues its promising career.
The working environment matters here.
A 2023 study of 537 employees across 17 software development projects found support for indirect links between curiosity fulfillment and performance through intellectual stimulation and workplace loneliness. It did not find support for a direct link.
That makes the company’s role worth examining alongside the employee’s attitude.
In our scenario, Maya needs access to information and someone willing to explore her observation. Alex needs time to contribute what he knows. The team needs a way to test the suggestion before declaring it an improvement.
A useful question has a better chance of becoming useful work when people can investigate it together.
Making Room for Curiosity at FXBO
At FXBO, our approach to growth and culture includes continuous learning, training programs, mentorship opportunities, and sharing ideas.
These commitments give curiosity a practical place in professional development. Training offers knowledge to build on. Mentorship creates opportunities to discuss the reasoning behind a decision. Sharing ideas allows different perspectives to meet.
There is room in that conversation for someone with years of experience and someone encountering a process for the first time. The experienced person can ask the unexpected question, too.
Curiosity has no seniority requirement.
Bring Your Curiosity to FXBO!
A strong career can contain both confidence and unanswered questions.
When considering your next role, think about what you already know and how you have approached what you did not. A problem you investigated, feedback you applied, or an assumption you reconsidered can reveal something a job title cannot.
Explore careers at FXBO and find your next opportunity to put your experience and curiosity to work.
And stay curious! That poor cat has taken enough blame.
