Reading Like a Leader

 

Previously I made the point that reading as a leader is different.  Leaders read to grow and develop, not just to be informed.  This requires reading through a different lens, so to speak, that is, reading through a leader's lens.

 

 

The best book I have ever read on reading as a leader is Turn the Page: How to Read Like a Top Leader.  If you have not read it, I highly recommend that you do.  Here is a link where you can purchase it.

 

While I will not outline the entire book here, I will offer these highlights that made a tremendous difference to me.

1. Leaders read differently.

Leaders are less concerned with the mere knowledge of a million facts than they are with the internalization and application of real principles and solutions.  Leaders read to learn what they need to know, do, or feel, regardless of the author's intent or words.  As they read, they search for answers to questions, great examples of leadership, and whatever else they may need in their leadership journey and mentorial relationships.... Leaders see past the words and read with the specific intent of finding truth and applying it directly in their own lives. (1)

 

2. Write in your books.

 

This was a hard one for me as I have always revered books and treated them as items of very high value.  Writing in them seemed wrong as I felt that I was somehow desecrating the book.  I was wrong.  Reading is NOT a one way static activity: I read the book; I get information.  Rather, leaders know that reading is, in fact, an interactive process of receiving and giving.  Top leaders read, underline, highlight, and make notes in the margins.  I came to understand that this was not desecration but rather an essential practice for leadership development.

3. Argue with the author

Too many people read books and take the content as gospel.  Leaders read to learn and broaden their minds, but that does not mean that they always have to agree with everything they read.  It is possible to read something, ponder and consider it, and conclude that the author is wrong!  The important key here is the 'ponder and consider' step.  Leaders know and accept that there are differing views; they also know that they do not have to agree with them all.  I have read countless books where I disagreed with some of all of the author's content.  I grew, as it caused me to think through my belief system and strengthened the logic of my position.

4. Reading provides mentors

If you read enough, you start to develop a list or authors who literally speak to you.  These authors become mentors.  There are times when I read something from one of my favorite authors that I just know that they were writing it to and for me: well not really, but it does seem like it because the impact is so powerful and poignant.  My favorite authors include John C. Maxwell, Orrin Woodward, Chris Brady, Simon Sinek, David McCullough, and Theodore Sizer.  Personally, I love reading biographies.  I find the lessons from history are legion.  Recently I have been reading works by Peter Drucker.  Drucker was brilliant but, to me, an acquired taste.  I don't think I was ready for him earlier in my life and career, but now am at a point where I can appreciate the utter genius of his thoughts and writings.  You should and will have the same experiences, but only if you read, and read regularly!

I could go on and on with nuggets from this book.  It is a short book (142 pages) and can be easily read in an afternoon, but you shouldn't!  Don't just read it, study it, reread it, digest it, reread it, internalize it, and then reread it!  If you implement the principles found in this this book, it WILL make you a better leader!

(1) Turn the Page: How to Read Like a Top Leader pg.15