Sparking Wonder at Work with Brooke Hill

Hello and welcome to Episode 348 of The People Powered Business Podcast.

When was the last time someone in your team brought you an idea you hadn’t already thought of yourself? If the honest answer is “not lately”, and most of the problem-solving still ends up on your desk, this conversation is for you.

I’ve always believed curiosity is one of the most underrated skills a business owner can have. When a team member does something we don’t expect, or a project goes sideways, we’re quick to assume we know why. Most of the time we don’t. I talk about this with the business owners I work with all the time, and I’ve noticed that the bigger and busier the business gets, the less curious we become.

So when I came across Brooke Hill and her work on wonder in the workplace, I knew I wanted her on the show.

Brooke runs WonderThink, a fully remote content agency, and she’s the author of Spark Wonder at Work. She has built a highly productive team on a deliberate culture of wonder, which she describes as a mix of awe, curiosity and optimism about what’s possible. Before you write this off as something only a creative agency can pull off, stick with us. Brooke shares the research linking regular experiences of awe to lower stress and more openness to new ideas. She also walks through what her team actually does: a Wonder Fund that sits alongside their wellness budget, a Monday check-in where everyone shares a moment of wonder from their week (with no pressure to make one up), and planning days that open with a shared experience before anyone looks at an agenda.

The part I’d love every business owner to take away is how Brooke runs her planning sessions. She keeps the “hat if” thinking completely separate from the weighing up of ideas, with firm rules for each, so good ideas don’t get shut down before anyone has a chance to voice them. We also talk about simple, low-cost ways to break your team out of autopilot, why the right team day for a group of tradies might look nothing like the right one for a team of writers, and where AI fits in. Brooke has a clear view on what to do with the time AI saves you, so your team’s thinking stays sharp rather than going soft.

In this episode we cover:

• What wonder actually is, and why it belongs in high-performing teams, not just creative ones
• Low-cost ways to build awe and curiosity into your team’s week, from a Wonder Fund to a Monday check-in
• How to run a planning day that starts with connection and keeps idea generation separate from judgement
• Small changes to the room, the routine and the environment that help a team think differently
• How to use AI to save time without losing your team’s critical thinking

Links & Resources:

• 💬 DM Kristy-Lee on Instagram @kristy.lee.billett
• Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristyleebillett/ 
• Email me at [email protected] 
• Book a 15-minute clarity call: https://calendly.com/kristyleebillett/chat 
• Connect with Brooke on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-hill-wonder/ 
• Get the book here: https://brookehill.com.au/spark-wonder-at-work-book