In today’s rapidly changing world, it’s more important than ever for leaders to be lifelong learners. The skills and knowledge that were once sufficient for success may no longer be enough, and leaders who are not willing to adapt and learn new things may quickly find themselves falling behind.
Why Learning Matters
Here are specific and high-impact benefits of learning for leaders:
- Improved decision-making
- Enhanced problem-solving skills
- Increased creativity and innovation
- Improved adaptability to the world’s accelerating rate of change
- Greater self-awareness, self-development, and leadership capacity
- Higher emotional intelligence and relationship-building know-how
- Improved team performance (teams thrive in a learning culture)
How to Be a Lifelong Learner
Top-tier leaders are lifelong learners. If you’re a leader who wants to be a lifelong learner, here are the five most impactful practices you can use (from Steve Shallenberger’s 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders):
- Read at least one book per month that is relevant to your work and life
- Invest three percent of your income in learning and self-development
- Join or start a mastermind group
- Assess the external environment (next week’s newsletter will cover this)
- Get and learn from feedback
Case Study
One leader who has benefited greatly from learning is Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet and Google. Pichai’s commitment to learning has helped him to become one of the most successful leaders in the tech industry.
Pichai is known for his insatiable curiosity and his willingness to learn new things. He has said that he believes that “learning is the key to success in today’s world.” Under his hungry-to-learn leadership, Google has launched new products and services, such as Google Cloud Platform, Google AI, and Waymo. Google has also expanded into new markets, such as China and India. He has successfully led Google through a period of rapid growth and innovation, and he is now responsible for overseeing one of the most valuable companies in the world as one of the most admirable leaders.
Wrapping Up
As demonstrated by Sundar and the world’s top-tier leaders, knowledge truly is power. So, gain and apply the power of knowledge by being an avid reader, investing in your self-development, joining or starting a mastermind, assessing the external environment (explained next week), and learning from feedback. That’s becoming your best!
“I promise that when you are armed with knowledge and apply it with all the energy and enthusiasm you have, it changes the game. It helps you to develop creative new ideas and solutions, to scale new heights, and to see new vistas. Knowledge will provide you with an enormous competitive edge that makes a decisive difference in a rapidly changing world.” – Steve Shallenberger
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