Friday, December 18, 2015

Take the Time to Learn

To be great at any endeavor, one must study that endeavor.  To be a good doctor, one must study medicine. To be a great engineer, one must study engineering.  Most great leaders achieved excellence through continuous learning, and they understood that to stay great, they had to continue to learn. 

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.  Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”     ~Henry Ford

We live in a world where we have an abundance of information available to us. Internet, Apps for our phones and tablets, books and e-books, seminars, webinars, audio and video programs, magazines, and the list goes on.

With all of this information available, am I suggesting that we need to study Leadership 24/7?  Not at all.  We all have other interests, however, to stay in the leadership game and to continue to be effective, I would suggest at least a few minutes each day in the pursuit of learning to lead.

I try to spend at least 15 minutes a day perusing an article, reading a chapter out of a book, or perhaps watching a YouTube video or TED talk.  Some days I do even more. Most of the time, I learn new ideas or concepts.  Sometimes it’s a new way of looking at leadership.  Other times, I might relearn or reinforce something that I already knew.

“Days are expensive. When you spend a day you have one less day to spend. So make sure you spend each one wisely.”    ~Jim Rohn

Take a few minutes every day to truly learn about leadership.  Not only will you become a more effective leader, but you will also continue to grow and develop in that role.  Then and only then can you help others to grow in their endeavors.