What got you here won't get you there. For most IT leaders, the path to the top was paved with expertise — knowing the systems, owning the decisions, having the answers. But something happens when that playbook stops working. Not a crash. Not a failure. Just a quiet plateau that tells you something needs to change.

In this episode of The Catalyst, we explore what's on the other side of that wall: a shift toward curiosity, empowerment, and a fundamentally different way of leading. Featuring leadership coach Kirsten Schmidtke, curiosity researcher Dr. Deb Clary, and Benevity VP of Engineering Rob Woolley — three voices who all landed in the same place.

What you'll take away:

• Why expertise becomes a trap for senior IT leaders — and how to recognize when it's happening to you
• The one behaviour change Rob Woolley made that created what he calls "titanic shifts" in his leadership
• What MIT-commissioned research reveals about the direct link between curiosity and organizational performance
• Why the best leaders aren't the ones with the most answers — and what they do instead

Featuring: Rob Woolley, VP Core Platform & Data Engineering at Benevity | Kirsten Schmidtke, Leadership Coach & Growth Advisor | Dr. Deb Clary, Author of The Curiosity Curve (Fast Company Press)

Learn more about Kirsten at kirstenschmidtke.com 

Take Deb's curiosity assessment at debraclary.com 

#ITLeadership #MidMarketIT #TheCatalyst #CuriousLeadership #Softchoice #LeadershipDevelopment #FutureOfIT

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology.