Leadership Lesson 20 : Learn in a consistent and continuous manner.

 Leadership Lesson 20

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 also a process of internalizing knowledge, attitude, skills and perspectives . Those who stop learning stop grow within and beyond.

Steve Jobs did not have the highest of educational qualifications nor PhD from an Ivy League university. Nor Bill Gates. Nor Dhirubhai Ambani. 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 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.

To learn is to know within, to understand a context, inter-relationship, multiple interest 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.

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, analyse 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.

JS Adoor

To be continued

44James Varghese, Methilaj MA and 42 others

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