The integrator who became the visionary.
Jon Bassford has lived both sides of leadership: making someone else’s vision work, and building his own. What he learned became The Curious Leader, and today he helps leaders spark innovation, growth, and change by putting curiosity at the center of how they lead.
Curiosity was never a strategy. It was a reflex.
Always the one asking why.
From his very first job, Jon couldn’t leave “that’s how we do it” alone. He asked the questions everyone else had stopped asking, not to be difficult, but because the answers usually pointed somewhere better. Then he did the harder part: turned them into change that lasted.
Culture is built on purpose, or by accident.
Jon learned as much about culture from the places that got it wrong as from the ones that got it right. Again and again he saw leaders intend one culture and, through everyday habits, create the opposite. So he reverse-engineered it, and found that leadership, operations, and culture aren’t separate problems. They’re one system.
From executing the vision to owning it.
For years Jon was the integrator, the person who turns someone else’s vision into reality. Then he crossed the table. As a 3x founder, he turned the same questions he’d always asked into new ideas and new businesses. Now he brings both perspectives, the one who executes and the one who envisions, to every stage and every room.
Innovation, growth, and change start with a better question.
An open book.
Born and raised in the Midwest, Jon fell in love with Washington, DC on a family vacation in high school and vowed to move there. He’s now called the DC metro area home for 20 years.
When he’s not on stage, you’ll find him on the ice playing hockey, under a barbell powerlifting, or in a theater seat for the latest Broadway musical.
Common questions
Who is Jon Bassford?
Jon Bassford is a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and executive coach on innovation, leadership, and change management. He’s the author of The Curious Leader, a TEDx speaker, and a 3x founder.
What does Jon speak on?
Curiosity as a leadership advantage: how better questions drive innovation, empower teams, and make change stick. Talks include The Curious Advantage, Creating Curious Cultures that Drive Results, The DIY Dilemma, and Kick the Dickens Out of Your Life. See the keynotes →
What’s the difference between a keynote and a workshop?
A keynote sets the vision for a large audience. A workshop puts your team to work on its own challenges and ends with a plan. Many organizations pair them. See the workshops →
Who does Jon work with?
Executive teams, boards, departments, managers, and small teams, plus conferences and associations that want their audience to leave thinking differently.
Let’s talk.
Keynotes, workshops, or coaching. Tell Jon what you’re working on.