A Small Shift in the Questions People Are Asking
By Laurel Burton (she/her), Policy & Evaluation Lead, Endura Consulting
Some of the earliest signs of progress aren’t found in dashboards or spreadsheets, they appear in the questions people start to ask. Long before behaviour changes and long before results show up in a report, curiosity shifts. And those shifts, while subtle, are among the most reliable early indicators that something is taking root.
Lately, I’ve been noticing these micro-moments more often. A colleague asks, “How will we know if this is working?” during a planning meeting. Someone else wonders, “Who do we need to hear from that we haven’t yet?” Another person hesitates before approving a plan and says, “Wait, what’s the intended outcome here?” None of these are dramatic moments. They’re not announcements or declarations. They’re simply questions, but they signal an important turning point.
In evaluation, we tend to celebrate measurable behaviour change, but we don’t always value cognitive change, i.e., the shifts in how people think, notice, and inquire. But often, curiosity moves first. The mindset shifts before the practice does. People start to see their work through a different lens, or they become aware of gaps and possibilities they hadn’t considered. A question becomes the doorway into a new way of working.
These curiosity shifts might look like:
a team starting to ask “why” instead of “what”
someone noticing whose voices or experiences are missing from the discussion
someone pausing to consider unintended impacts
a project lead requesting data proactively instead of reactively
a newcomer asking, “Has anyone already learned from trying this in the past?”
a group realizing they want more clarity, not more slides
Each question, small as it may seem, represents a moment of awakening. A signal that thinking is evolving. A sprout.
And what’s powerful is that these changes are often contagious. One thoughtful question can shift the tone of a whole meeting. One person’s curiosity or commitment to inclusion can encourage others to look a little deeper. Over time, a culture grows, one that values reflection, evidence, and learning long before the results roll in.
So, this month, instead of only noticing what people do, try noticing what they wonder about. Because sometimes the future of our work shows up first as a quiet question.
