Leading the Learning: 5 ways to lead the way

'Leadership is about making decisions on 52/48 propositions. You better get comfortable being wrong a lot and learning even more.' Have you ever heard something that just stopped you in your tracks? I call these 'head punch' quotes and that's what the aforementioned quote was. I heard on it on the Maxwell Leadership podcast and have thought about it a lot. At some point, if a leader is going to survive, they have to dive into learning. According to my Clifton Strength Finder profile, learning is one of my top five behavior traits. It is not easy for anyone to be leading learner, but I do lean that direction. In today's fast moving and constantly changing times, I'm convinced that being a leading learner is a critical behavior for any leader. Here are 5 ways I attempt to be leading learner and you can too.

MAKE A PLAN FOR YOUR LEARNING. iBooks is an amazing tool. I do most of my reading there, and track all of the books on all of the topics I want to learn about through the 'want to read' list. The subscribe / unsubscribe feature of podcasts is another great hack. I subscribe / unsubscribe to podcasts based upon pre-determined areas I want to gather information. Here's my favorite tactic - when I come across a professional in my area of responsibility, regardless of industry, I ask them for advice. Literally. I say, 'hey, give me some advice.' It is amazing what they share.

DOCUMENT YOUR LEARNING. There is strong evidence that in order to really learn something you have to document it. That takes place in two ways for me: 1) I track all the books I read and a favorite quote from that book on a Google sheet 2) I write down in a journal 'things I'm thinking' as a result of what I'm learning. A leading learner documents what they are learning to ensure they are actually learning it.

SHARE YOUR LEARNING. Someone once told me to never turn down an opportunity to speak. Once I learned about the powerful impact that speaking - teaching - writing has on your learning, I've applied that advice the best that I can. I don't guest blog, accept interviews on podcasts, or speak at conferences because I think I have something smart to say. It's because I know I'm going to learn something at a deeper level when I do it. If you are going to share something with others in a way that they understand, you are going to have to really know what you are sharing well. If you are a leading learner, you should find ways to share your learning to enhance your learning.

SOLICIT WHAT YOUR TEAM IS LEARNING. Make a habit of asking your colleagues, direct reports, and supervisors questions like: 'what are you reading?' , 'what's your favorite podcast?', 'where did you learn that', or 'what's your favorite pro tip?' A leading learner is constantly prodding their team about what they are learning.

ENCOURAGE YOUR TEAM TO SHARE THEIR LEARNING. A leading learner knows that the learning is not about them, but it starts with them. This is why leading learners have no problem stepping aside and letting their people speak at conferences, accept invites to podcasts, or write journal articles. In fact, they celebrate these things because it accelerates their learning and their contribution to the group. Everyone gets better when someone on the team learns something new!

Leader - You are so busy. You might not have time to keep learning. You might not be able to keep leading very well, either. Be a leading learner for your team. Learn on, friends!