Wendi S. Williams

Curiosity and Empathy in Times of Disruption

The quote’s pairing suggests a system: curiosity discovers what needs to change, while empathy shapes how change should happen. Without curiosity, organizations repeat old playbooks that no longer match reality; without empathy, they create resistance, burnout, or turnover that undermines long-term results. Consider a common transformation scenario: a company introduces automation to improve service speed. Curiosity prompts leaders to study where delays truly occur and what technology can realistically do; empathy prompts them to involve affected staff, redesign roles thoughtfully, and plan reskilling so the solution doesn’t succeed operationally while failing socially. [...]