Great Leaders Teach and Yearn to be Taught

Far too often leaders become complacent or self-absorbed as forget that education is one of the most important keys to success. They come to believe that they have “seen it all” and as such “have all the answers”. Further, they fail to recognize the importance of both formal and informal education.

Great leaders are huge fans of education. Leaders use failures and victories alike as teachable moments. They find ways to creatively ensure their team and its individual members learn from history. They apply the learning into living and breathing educational tools that can be used long into the future.

Leaders are always looking for creative ways to educate. They are particularly adept at teaching others how to adopt learning from a key experience to other opportunities or hurdles to be leapt. Something that worked in one situation may be the perfect solution in another.

Further, they are zealots for formal team member education. They are on the lookout for assignment appropriate formal education programs and ensure that each year ample funding is allocated for same.

As with great teachers, great leaders must not only be willing to be educated but, in fact, seek out opportunities to enhance their breadth of edification. They are inquisitive, constantly challenging the experts and digging into the details to find new solutions. I believe a day that a leader does not learn something is a day lost.

Great leaders are always looking for opportunities to learn. They are adept at applying learning to multiple scenarios. If a leader is not actively seeking to find opportunities to learn, they are probably missing out on many educational experiences and thus unwittingly hurting their team.

Every leader should insist on a robust formal educational program as part of their annual plan. This, coupled with, a leader driven culture of continuous ad hoc education imbedded into the skin of the organization will deliver astounding results. Great leaders learn quickly that education is a winner.

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