They say curiosity may have killed the cat, but I doubt it. I do know curiosity has saved more leaders than I can count. Curiosity is all about the inquiry that drives creativity. It’s what sparks innovation. So what should leaders be curious about?

Here are five suggestions:

1) How else can we do that? Is there a faster way? Is there a more profitable way? Is there a way that delivers more value? Questions like this can help business stay ahead of technology and market changes.  

2) What else do our customers need? Do they need more or less of something we already deliver? Do they need what we do delivered in a different way? Are there customers for what we do that we haven’t considered?  

3) How else can I look at this? Leaders need to be able to view problems from different perspectives – theirs, their team’s, their stockholders, their customers, and their future customers. They also need to be able to analyze and resolve conflict, so need to be able to see things from the perspectives around the conflict.  

4) What went right? We spend so much time considering what goes wrong. And there are lessons there. But there is so much we can learn when things go right too. What were the circumstances? What did we do? What did we not do?  

5) What if it were possible? Leaders inspire but wondering if the limits we perceive were to change? What if we could do it more simply? What if we could go deeper? What if we can repeat that success? What can we change to avoid that problem? How can do better? How can we treat our customers better? How can we treat our team better?   So the next time you feel stuck, are facing a leadership challenge or dealing with a crisis, ask some questions.  

This article originally appeared on the Soar Community Network Blog .There’s still time to join us at the SOAR Summit on May 6th!