Leadership is about open space of learning.

John Samuel

?Leadership Lesson 18

A clear sign of leadership quality is the ability to learn in a consistent and continuous manner.

Those with leadership quality never stop learning. Their learning curve is high. Learning is indicative of an attitude and a process of internalizing knowledge, attitude, skills and perspectives . Those who stop learning never grow within and cease their leadership potential.

Steve Jobs did not have the highest of educational qualifications nor PhD from an Ivy League university. Nor Bill Gates. Dhirubhai Ambani never went to college ( Founder of Reliance - one of the biggest conglomerate based in India ) . But they all have one thing in common. They had a life long commitment to learn, unlearn and learn new thing almost everyday. Learning that helped them to be imaginative enough to invent, initiate, innovate, lead and made change possible.

Learning requires and open mind to understand the limits of one's own mind and attitudes . Learning is an internal process that happen in the minds of people. Learning is an active verb- and not just a noun. People often learn what they want to learn. It is one thing to be 'well-informed' and it is another thing to acquire learning. Learning requires thinking, reflection and internalization of knowledge, skills and perspective. Learning also involve unlearning certain attitudes, behavior and set ideas. Learning requires open spaces within the mind and outgrow oneself.

To learn is to know within, to understand a context, inter-relationship, multiple interests and a multidimensional understanding. The motivation to learn is a motivation within, and a drive within.

These days one come across many people with lots of 'information' - and there is a Wikipedia or google generation, who could get 'informed' on anything and everything as the information is on fingertip. But 'consuming' information is different from learning. Because, learning requires an active process of applying the mind, thinking, reflection and then see the context, content and contours of information and then analyzing the information with a perspective .

It is often understanding, analysis, interpretative imagination that provide rare insights and also an intuitive understanding.

I have come across people who come with their own preconceived notion to new organizational settings. I remember a senior government officer, joining a new generational organization where there is less vertical hierarchies and more horizontal professional relationship and modes of management. The officer and gentleman was so used to vertical modes of 'top-down' command and control kind of government modes of management . Despite all efforts to train the new modes of leadership, the gentleman kept on saying that ' I know'. The challenge is when people begin to think ' I know', they often are reluctant to change their attitude. It is important to outgrow the ' I know' attitude to open up the mind to realize that it is a barrier to learn new things.

One may have a lots of experience, expertise and domain knowledge. But in a fast changing world, all the information and knowledge you acquire over many years may become redundant . With the advent of digital technology and the multiple apps, I realized that many of those technology skills that I acquired years ago became redundant. I did not know how to write in may own mother tongue, using digital technology. I was trained in this app by an young intern working with me. Once I learned that art of using digital apps to write in Malayalam ( my mother tongue) there was no stopping. I reinvented my creative writing after thirty year- and wrote two books on my smart phone.

Here the most important point is one can learn from anyone and from anywhere. I have learned many things from my own children, interns and people half my age. I am learning now about artificial intelligence and how to apply that in professional settings. I have a colleague who is so good in using automation in preparing notes of meeting and often he sends me the minutes of our discussions soon after meeting. I have great admiration for leaders who are capable of learning new things at any age. I knew a senior journalist who passed away at the age of 92. What amazed me was his ability to learn new technology and ability to write till he passed away. His mind was so active.

There are many aspects of learning. Those with excellent leadership quality are avid observers and alert to situations from where they can learn something new.

They are also open enough to learn new points from anywhere and everywhere. They observe people, process, innovation and initiatives. The ability to observe, absorb, analyze and then understand is an internal quality indicative of an open and fertile mind-set. Such leaders will be very perceptive as they could immediately see through situation and contexts.

I have learned simply by working with great leaders and learning by watching their attitude and behavior- the way they use language and communications. Among those whom I consider my gurus are those who never consciously taught me anything. I have personally learned about learning new things from David Cohen, the former president of Common Cause, and Advocacy Institute in Washington DC. David was old enough to become my father. But he always had a child like wonder. When I was a fellow at the Advocacy Institute, Washington I learned about humility, open-mind and child like wonder to learn new things just by observing him. He never spoke jargons, though he was one of the most well-read person that I came across. He made complex things simple. He was a great story telling. He spoke stories instead of academic jargons. By simply being with David, I learned many new things about leadership by observing with him. He mentored me just by giving space , opening my own mind.

Leadership is about an open mind and open space to continuously learn by observing and absorbing knowledge, skills and, attitudes . Learning requires creating spaces for others as well. Those with close mind and organizational or management dogma would not be able to internalize knowledge.

Open spaces within organizations and leadership enable and empowers learning and unlearning. Open spaces make us creative enough to learn, innovate and imaginative. Only those who with high learning curve, fertile open mind and creativity would be able to lead with new imagination and new vision to make change happen within and beyond. As Albert Einstein said ' Imagination is more important than knowledge' .