The Best Leaders are the Best Learners

 

Leadership is not a one-time event, it's an ongoing process of growing, evolving and developing. We must believe that we (and others) can learn to lead, and that we can become better leaders tomorrow, than we are today.

This statement seems fairly straightforward; and may be easier said than done. It requires developing and strengthening the leadership behaviors of ourselves - but how do we do that?

In their Harvard Business Review article, "The Making of an Expert," K. Anders Ericsson, Michael J. Prietula and Edward T. Cokely say it takes 2.7 hours of practice per day to improve at a skill - whether playing tennis, honing your golf swing or learning keys on the piano. And not just routine practice - the article says "...you will need to invest that time wisely, by engaging in deliberate practice."

Research has found that those leaders who engage more in learning are more effective as leaders. That is, their direct reports see them as more effective. What does this look like?

• They spend more time in learning activities. Literally, they engage in learning by reading, talking with others, experimenting with new ways of doing things or reflecting on their own leadership behaviors.
• They ask more questions.
• They don't assume they know everything.
• They aren't afraid to admit mistakes.
• They ask for feedback, and when they get it they say "thank you" and accept it as a gift by taking it seriously, whether the feedback is positive or negative.
• They encourage others to experiment, take risks and accept failure by asking "What can we learn?"

How do you fit 2.7 hours of deliberate practice on your leadership skills every day? It's likely we do many of these learning activities already, yet we don't transfer learning from the activity into deliberate practice on leadership.

Adapted from the original post at The Best Leaders are the Best Learners