But we’ve always done it this way.

Three days ago, this line showed up on my quote-of-the-day calendar: "The most dangerous phrase in the language is 'We've always done it this way.'" —Rear Admiral Grace Hopper.

I read it, nodded, moved on with my day. But then the next day it was front and center in a due diligence leadership assessment I was running. Being that I was slow to change over the calendar, Grace Hopper was staring at me.

The leader I was interviewing was deeply skeptical of the whole process. His refrain, on repeat, was "nothing better change." Look, I understand the impulse this leader was voicing. Change threatens what's familiar, what's working (or what we've convinced ourselves is working). But holding that tightly to the status quo is such an exhausting way to lead and an even harder way to live. It puts you in a permanent defensive crouch against a world that's going to keep moving whether you brace for it or not.

The best leaders I have worked with hold the opposite position. Curiosity instead of certainty. They treat "why do we do it this way?" not as a threat to be shut down, but as an interesting question. They know that "we've always done it this way" isn't a reason but it is the absence of one. They don't change just because or abandon what works. They just stay curious enough to keep checking.

So here's an honest question: Where have you caught yourself defending "the way we've (I've) always done it" instead of asking whether it still serves you?