Stefaan van Hooydonk

Stefaan van Hooydonk

• Expert in workplace curiosity, workplace culture, change, future of work, individual and organizational growth, and success
• Consultant to global corporations, leadership teams, and individuals
• Founder of Global Curiosity Institute
• His innovative approach to learning, people, and technology has gained him global recognition

The founder of the Global Curiosity Institute, Stefaan van Hooydonk consults global corporations, leadership teams, and individuals in order to build stronger curiosity muscles. This he does by baselining both individual and workplace curiosity, supporting them in designing and carrying out curiosity improvement projects and learning initiatives.

Stefaan van Hooydonk started his investment consulting career in China. He went on to set up an executive education branch at a China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. He ran it for five years. From there he set up learning teams and innovative corporate universities across the globe. Amongst these, he includes Philips in the Netherlands, Flipkart in India, Nokia in China and Finland, and Cognizant in the United Kingdom. His last role, i.e., that of Chief Learning Officer for Cognizant, saw him oversee the learning and development of more than 300k associates worldwide. His innovative approach to learning, people, and technology has gained him global recognition.

With regards to his educational background, Stefaan van Hooydonk holds a master’s degree in Economics and Chinese as well as postgraduate degrees in Marxist Economics from China, Cross-Cultural Management from France, and an Executive MBA from Rutgers University. He is also a certified executive coach. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in philosophy, has an interest in food forestry, runs marathons, and practices meditation on a daily basis. He is also the author of the bestseller ‘The Workplace Curiosity Manifesto’.

Stefaan van Hooydonk – Speaker

As a conference speaker, Stefaan van Hooydonk shares ideas on creating a winning culture in any work environment while supporting curiosity and creative thinking. He resides in Belgian and speaks English, Chinese, French, and Dutch.

Speaking Topics

• Curiosity: The Key Element for Creating a Winning Culture (For Senior Executives): Every person is born with a healthy dose of curiosity. Some people can maintain this level through adulthood, many however see their original strength diminish over time. The same happens with systems like start-ups. Early start-ups have a high predisposition to exploration, only to see that this mindset deteriorates once the company expands, focuses on efficiency, conforms to rigid standards, and finds it harder to learn from mistakes.

Curious organisations are winning organisations. They are intentional about how they balance exploration and exploitation. Curious organizations are more successful than incurious ones, especially in times of change. Not only are they constantly looking for ways to improve their current operations, but they are also constantly scanning the industrial horizon for new opportunities.

In this interactive session, we explore what we know about curiosity, why it is important in our professional life and our organizations, and reflect on strategies to get better at it.

• Leading with Curiosity (For People Managers): The shadow a manager casts on the team is one of the biggest drivers of productivity, engagement, and the feeling of well-being of the team. Those managers who do this well, uplift the team. Those who don’t stifle it. The key to effective task management and people leadership is curiosity.

Curious leaders are good at operationalizing the present as well as securing the future. They create psychological safety for the team to thrive. Curious leaders represent a high level of cognitive, empathic, and self-reflective curiosity. They are curious about the world around them, the people they work with, and their own internal conscious and unconscious drivers. They go out of their way to engage with their team, also in times of stress. They stretch their teams to excel in the present and embrace the future.

In this interactive session, we explore what we know about curiosity, why it is important for leaders, professionals, and teams, what the barriers are and what leaders can do to get better at intentional curiosity for themselves and the people in their care.

• Master Your Curiosity to Master Your Life (For Professionals): Every person is born with a healthy dose of curiosity. Some people can maintain this level through adulthood, many however see their original strength diminish over time.

Those individuals who maintain high levels of productive curiosity are called A-players. They are intentional about how they show up curiously to the world and to the people around them. They are not afraid to question themselves or challenge the status quo with humility. They learn more than others and are better equipped to face changes around them. In many organisations, these A-players are the minority. Why is this?

In this interactive session, we explore what we know about curiosity, why it is important in our professional life, what its barriers are, and reflect on strategies to get better at it.

• The Power of Curiosity (For HR Professionals): Curiosity is hot. The world as we know it is not the same anymore in the post-covid era. In times of change, Leaders are starting to realise that they need to be both pursuing operational efficiency as well as openness toward an unknown future. Those companies that balance both exploitation and exploration will remain competitive. Yet why is this renewed focus on exploration and curiosity so hard for companies? Intentional Curiosity is of paramount importance in times of change. The implications of this fundamental change for HR are vast. Not only does HR need to embrace this concept within their own ranks and reinvent themselves, but they also need to embark on a journey to ensure curiosity is embedded in recruitment, onboarding, talent management, and talent development processes.

In this interactive session, we explore what we know about curiosity, why it is important for the workplace, what the barriers are, and what HR can do to get better at intentional curiosity for themselves and the people in their care.

• The Power of Curiosity in L&D (For Learning and Development Professionals): Curiosity is hot in L&D. Curiosity is the initial spark that ignites learning and growth, creativity, and innovation. It also creates deeper relationships and allows people to become intently aware of their values, beliefs, and biases. In times of stability, curiosity and exploration are marginalised, in times of volatility like we are now, it comes to the forefront. Many L&D teams are already exploring how to redesign their strategy with curiosity at the centre and best practices are emerging.

The implications of the changing industrial landscape and consequently the way people grow and learn are indeed vast for L&D. L&D leaders and their teams have the opportunity to step up and embrace this concept within their own ranks and reinvent themselves. They can also embark on a journey to mobilize the leaders and employees to get better at curiosity with novel learning solutions. Furthermore, more broadly they have the opportunity to redesign the way their organisations and professionals learn, unlearn and relearn.

In this interactive session, we explore what we know about curiosity, why it is important for the workplace, what the barriers are, and what L&D can do to get better at intentional curiosity for themselves and the people in their care.