Let me tell you about a short conversation.

I frequently “cold call” company CEOs and leaders to gauge their interest in joining my Vistage group. I recently talked to the CEO of a tech company who expressed mild interest until asking about the other leaders in the group. Once he learned he would be the first tech company boss in the group, he quickly said he was not interested because, “What could I learn from them?”

And I just as quickly agreed. As I said, it was a short call.

What could he learn from:

• The president of an insurance firm with 160 employees with 25 years in management?
• An entrepreneurial company owner strategizing the best use of new technology in his field?
• A CEO of a non-profit affiliated with the world’s best known housing organization?
• The founder of a mental health organization that has tripled since the pandemic?

I don’t mean to be snarky, but if you tell me you can only learn from people in your field, you probably won’t want to be a part of our group.

The key to learning and growing, it seems to me, is acknowledging you don’t know it all. It is opening yourself to a group and asking for help. It is understanding that in a Vistage group room there are decades of experience and it’s unlikely that the challenges you are facing are unique.

Recently in our group, a leader faced an existential crisis. Their major supplier for upcoming events had suddenly declared bankruptcy. That’s a “hair on fire” moment. Working with our group, we came up with a 7-day plan, a 30-day plan and a 6-month plan. The company owners executed those plans with confidence and courage. And they acknowledged that when the crisis first hit, they were not sure what to do. But they opened up and asked for help.

Last week, Vistage released an interview our CEO Sam Reese conducted with former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi. Ms. Nooyi’s “Five C’s of Leadership” include competence, courage and confidence, communication, curiosity and compass. She’s marvelous and you can see why PepsiCo succeeded under her leadership. I was struck by the word “curious.” It is one of the qualities I look for when selecting people for our Vistage group.

If you’re not curious, you’re stuck.