The more time I spend as a friend of people who are in leadership, the more I become convinced that the greatest leaders I know are perpetual learners.
In some ways it seems like a backwards statement that the best leaders are those who continue to learn about leadership. Yet this is what I continue to observe…good leaders are curious and humble; they desire to improve their understanding and ability. These factors cause such leaders to remain students of leadership and see themselves as such: they persist as students, rather than masters - of their leadership passion.
With this in mind, the following are some of the ways that I observe leaders pursue a life-long practice of learning:
- Read. Most serious leaders I have met are readers. They are constantly working their way through the next book that relates in some way to their leadership interest. Warren Buffett's business partner Charlie Munger said, "In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time -- none, zero. Click here to learn more: http://ow.ly/EwMix
- Train. There are an amazing number of classes and seminars available to all of us. I find that top-tier leaders regularly take advantage of training opportunities.
- Teach. Periodically I am asked to teach a class or seminar. When I do so, my personal experience is that I always learn more than anyone else in the room.
- Join. Every profession seems to have a trade organization where people with similar professional interests gather to swap ideas. Leaders regularly participate in such groups where they continue to learn from their peers.
- Online: An obvious source of countless learning opportunities is available online through webinars, blogs, articles and so forth. Leaders seem to be able to locate true learning opportunities and shed the rest of the fluff online.
What is your favorite way to continue to learn? Let us know and we will post it for others who can benefit from your experiences.