Meet Dr. Diane Hamilton

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. Diane Hamilton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dr. Diane below.

Dr. Diane, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

My purpose was developed over a lifetime of asking questions. I’ve always been a lifelong learner. Even before I had the words for it, I knew I was drawn to ideas, people, and possibilities. That hunger to learn eventually turned into a mission to help other people discover that same drive in themselves.
The turning point came when I was teaching graduate students and noticed how many of them lacked a high level of curiosity. They wanted me to give them a fish rather than teach them to fish. I started to wonder how to fix that. That question sparked years of research, thousands of interviews, and eventually a nationally syndicated radio show where I talked to some of the most curious and accomplished minds in business, science, and the arts.
Writing Cracking the Curiosity Code helped me clarify what was missing for so many people. Midway through the book, it hit me. If I was going to really make a difference, I needed to go beyond explaining curiosity and create a way for people to measure what inhibited it and be able to improve it. I drew on my experience writing my doctoral dissertation on emotional intelligence and developed the Curiosity Code Index®, the first and only assessment that identifies the factors that hold people back from being curious.
That research became the foundation for my second book, Curiosity Unleashed, where I focused on how organizations can use curiosity to challenge the status quo and improve innovation, leadership, and engagement.
Over the years, I started to notice a pattern. I’ve always been interested in learning and helping other people learn. Whether I was teaching, writing, speaking, or interviewing someone, I kept coming back to the same goal: getting people to think differently and ask more questions. That focus on curiosity has shaped everything I do. It’s what keeps me motivated and guides the work I do now.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I focus on helping organizations build a culture of curiosity. Most of my work involves speaking to companies and training their teams to ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and move away from status-quo thinking. I give keynotes and lead sessions that are grounded in research but designed to be practical. I want people to walk away with tools they can use to think differently at work and feel more connected to what they do.

One of the highlights of my year was winning the Fulbright Specialist Award, which allowed me to travel to Luxembourg and work with both students and executives at the Luxembourg School of Business. It was a great opportunity to bring the conversation about curiosity to a global audience and see how it applies across industries and cultures.

I’m part of the Thinkers50 Radar, which includes some of the top leadership minds from around the world. That community pushes me to keep asking the bigger questions. What does curiosity really do for a business? What happens when companies prioritize it? I’ve been diving into those answers through ongoing research that links curiosity to stronger business outcomes like engagement, innovation, and productivity.

At the core of everything I do is the belief that people want to love what they do. When curiosity is supported at work, people are more likely to find roles that fit them, not just ones they tolerate. I’m passionate about making that happen. Whether I’m speaking to a room of executives or helping a team rethink their habits, my goal is always the same: help people stay curious so they can grow, connect, and perform at their best.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three things that have helped me most in my journey are curiosity, tenacity, and emotional intelligence, especially empathy. Curiosity is what keeps me asking questions and exploring new paths. Tenacity helps me stick with things even when they’re uncomfortable or uncertain. And emotional intelligence allows me to better understand people, connect with them, and adapt to different situations. I’ve worked hard to keep developing all three.

I believe curiosity and emotional intelligence are two of the most important skills anyone can develop. If you want to grow in those areas, the first step is to understand where you currently stand. What’s holding you back? What assumptions are you making that limit your willingness to explore or connect? I created the Curiosity Code Index to help people get to the root of what’s inhibiting them. It’s the same idea with emotional intelligence. You can’t improve something if you haven’t taken the time to measure it.

When I interviewed Daniel Goleman, who helped make emotional intelligence a mainstream concept, he told me that curiosity is the competency of the future. That stuck with me, because it reflects exactly what I’ve seen in my own work. If you want to improve your EQ or your curiosity quotient, you have to get clear on what needs work. That might mean taking an assessment, getting feedback, or identifying patterns in how you respond to challenges. Once you know what’s holding you back, you can create a plan to move forward. These are not traits you either have or don’t have. They’re skills, and you can build them with the right tools and support.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I’m always open to partnering with organizations that want to create a more curious and engaged workforce. I work with companies that are looking to bring me in for a keynote or training session focused on developing curiosity and breaking out of status-quo thinking. I also offer the Curiosity Code Index assessment to help teams identify what holds them back and what they can do to move forward.

In addition to working directly with companies, I also collaborate with consultants, coaches, and HR professionals who want to get certified to administer the Curiosity Code Index themselves. That allows them to bring this work into their own organizations or client networks in a way that’s structured and backed by research.

If you’re interested in collaborating, you can visit https://drdianehamilton.com to learn more or contact me directly. I always enjoy connecting with people who share an interest in building stronger teams through curiosity and emotional intelligence.

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