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Scott Shigeoka urges 'heart-centered curiosity' for judiciary leaders
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Summary
On the Federal Judicial Center podcast 'In Session: Leading the Judiciary,' author Scott Shigeoka said judiciary leaders should practice 'heart-centered curiosity'—asking trust-based, noninvasive questions to understand staff, reduce conflict and build a healthier workplace culture.
Scott Shigeoka, author of Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World, told listeners of the Federal Judicial Center’s podcast In Session: Leading the Judiciary that leaders should move beyond surface-level questions to what he calls "heart centered curiosity" to better understand colleagues and reduce workplace conflict.
"I call that heart centered curiosity, and that's about how do you really understand the person that's in front of you as an act of care," Shigeoka said during the interview with host Laurie Murphy, assistant division director for executive education at the Federal Judicial Center.
Shigeoka distinguished intellectual curiosity—"the desire to know or to understand"—from heart-centered curiosity, which he said seeks the stories and complexities that make people who they are. He argued that curiosity practiced this way can increase engagement, reduce absenteeism and help organizations retain talent. "There is a correlation between increased curiosity and increased happiness," he said.
The author cautioned that deep questions should be "earned" through trust and that leaders should avoid reflexively shutting down vulnerable disclosures with empty reassurance. He gave a practical alternative: rather than responding "You did a great job," a supervisor might prompt deeper reflection by saying, "Tell me more," to open a conversation about why an employee feels they underperformed.
Shigeoka also warned against "predatory curiosity," a tactic he described as asking repeated questions with an ulterior motive to trap or change someone's view. "That's not your curiosity," he said, noting it often puts people on the defensive and impedes mutual learning.
On managing fear and uncertainty, Shigeoka offered a concise mantra: "fear is curiosity without a breath." He drew on interviews with end-of-life doulas to illustrate curiosity as accompaniment—being present and eliciting meaning—rather than fixing a situation.
For judiciary leaders specifically, Shigeoka recommended practicing "detach," which he described as letting go of assumptions, biases and certainty (his shorthand: ABCs), and using that practice as a precursor to asking questions and designing projects.
He closed by inviting listeners to consult his book and manager resources at seekthebook.com. The episode notes the podcast is available at fjc.dcn/ee and on Apple, Spotify and YouTube and that it was produced at U.S. taxpayer expense.
