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.
