Leaders are Readers
How Many Books Are On Your Shelf?
"Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers" -- Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States
Legend has it my great-great grandfather Ricardo was chosen as a county sheriff in Colorado largely because he was the only man in his small town to have both a gun, and a personal library in his possession. Considering this family lore, you’ll probably be unsurprised to learn that after doing an official tally my brother reminded me there are 157 books in our shared childhood bedroom, not counting the more than 95 additional books scattered throughout our living room and kitchen!
According to a growing body of evidence, the average number of books per US household is 114 -- which is a number we can all be proud of -- since studies have shown that “just having 80 or more books in a home results in adults with significantly higher levels of literacy, numeracy, and information communication technology (ICT) skills.”
The paper finds that the effects of growing up with books are so powerful that “children from such homes who ended up attaining just a high-school-level education "become as literate, numerate and technologically apt in adulthood as university graduates who grew up with only a few books." (1)
The Key to High-Achieving EQ?
Furthermore, the benefits of books go beyond boosting ICT -- they also amplify Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) in readers exploring the compendium of literary fiction -- a genre largely rooted in character-driven narrative retellings of history. Think of books like: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, Train to Pakistan, and The Kite Runner etc.
?While most fantasy and “popular fiction tends to portray situations that are otherworldly and follow a formula wherein “characters are internally consistent and predictable,” ...“Literary fiction, by contrast, focuses more on the psychology of characters and their relationships” without giving all the details -- thus prompting us to read between the lines to try and understand characters’ multifaceted motivations by imagining their introspective dialogues. “This psychological awareness carries over into the real world, which is full of complicated individuals whose inner lives are usually difficult to fathom.?
"Children should learn that reading is pleasure, not just something that teachers make you do in school” -- Beverly Cleary, centenarian, world-renowned author, graduate of UC Berkeley ‘38
?Although literary fiction tends to be more realistic than popular fiction, the characters [still] disrupt reader expectations, undermining prejudices and stereotypes. They support and teach us values about social behavior, such as the importance of understanding those who are different from ourselves.” (2)?
Going back to my family history, Coloradans trusted Sheriff Ricardo because he had integrity and knew how to put himself in someone else’s shoes. I’m a firm believer that his love of reading helped him immensely in his role as a community leader.
Reading, Emotional Intelligence, and the Future of Work
?In 2021, our ever-more-stimulating digital media ecosystem continues to garner an active following even as adult literature consumption hits an all-time low (3). Simultaneously we’ve seen a proliferation of articles published/posted by the likes of HBR, The World Economic Forum, Atlassian, and Forbes -- all highlighting EQ as one of the most essential workplace skills for the future.
For perspective, as far back as 2011 a Career Builder Survey found that out of 2,600 hiring managers and human resource professionals, "71% stated they valued emotional intelligence in an employee over IQ; 75% said they were more likely to promote a highly emotionally intelligent worker; and 59% claimed they’d pass up a candidate with a high IQ but low emotional intelligence (4)".?
Larger studies in this field since 2009 consistently indicate "EQ is so critical that it accounts for 58% of performance in all types of jobs” (5) and “trumps almost every other factor -- IQ, personality, education, experience, and gifts -- when it comes to effective performance for leaders” (6)
When considering data like this, we can guess what the hiring managers are looking for...Remember the old adage that people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care? Equally as important, people won’t always remember what you’ve said, but they will always remember how you made them feel when you said it. All these empathetic interactions add up when executives are looking to create an empathetic culture. And as famous management consultant Peter Drucker rightly quips: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” (7)?
?As hiring managers continue to index highly on candidate EQ, we all strive to practice empathy and advanced sensitivity to how our contributions to workplace culture translate to both our individual success and company profits. I sat down with one voracious reader working in a hyper-growth start-up who is a firm believer in the power of reading books to build culture:??
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?“I love nonfiction books because they’re one of the few ways to get a deep and continuous stream of information about a specific topic. In a world full of short form content, non-fiction books are still one of the best ways of learning something deeply.
I love fiction books simply because I love stories. Stories are the fundamental way that humans orient ourselves in this chaotic world. Reading stories for me not only helps me orient myself, but also helps me communicate to others in a way that can help them orient themselves”
-- Kevin Chen, Revenue Growth Manager, Asana
?Pay It Forward: Help Make Readers Into Leaders
On April 23rd, 2021 more than 100 countries marked the 26th anniversary of World Book Day (WBD), an annual event UNESCO launched in 1995 to promote reading, publishing and international copyright standards. Registering itself as a charity by the same name, World Book Day has evolved into a celebration of childhood literacy aiming to ensure every young person is given a book of their very own. WBD aims to turn readers into leaders. Its vision brings us full circle:?
"Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers" -- Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States
To find out how you can help, visit: https://bookaid.org/donate/ to learn more!
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Sources:?
(2): Julianne Chiaet, Novel Finding: Reading Literary Fiction Improves Empathy, Scientific American, October 4th, 2013. Accessed on June 4th, 2019. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/novel-finding-reading-literary-fiction-improves-empathy/
(5): Travis Bardberrry & Jean Greaves, Emotional Intelligence 2.0 (San Diego, CA: TalentSmart, 2009), 20-21.
(6): Travis Bardberry & Jean Greaves, Leadership Intelligence 2.0 (San Diego, CA: TalentSmart, 2012), 129-34
(7): Peter Drucker, world famous management consultant and philosophy of business contributor
RevOps | Accounting | GTM
3 年Reading may be one of the quickest ways to foster empathy and strengthen our understanding of others. Well done John Knox! ?? Now I'm curious about that calendar ?? ??
Customer Success → Strategy & Ops | Scaling SaaS | ex-Udemy (IPO), Gainsight (PE), ServiceTitan (Series A) | Cross-functional leadership & scaling efficiency
3 年No wonder you have such high IQ and EQ :)