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He carried 3×5 cards with him everywhere he went, to capture thoughts and ideas, and to note the needs he saw. A leader of leaders, he was a prolific author and speaker, who also led five educational institutions and a massive organization with worldwide impact.

And, yes, there was a connection between those practices and responsibilities: He was a life-long learner and achiever.

He often said that every person knew something he didn’t know, and he enjoyed learning from everyone.

He practiced what my friend, Chris Robinson, calls “Learn a little, do a little.”

It turns out that if you practice this on a consistent basis, you end up doing a lot.

One of the hallmarks of a truly great leader is that they are in a state of continuous learning and development.

What does REAL learning look like?

Read and Meet

Charlie “Tremendous” Jones said, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today, except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

If you want to be a better leader in five years than you are today, you will need to invest some time in reading and meeting people. Seek those who know more than you in various areas or in the areas you are seeking to develop. Identify who is succeeding in the field you are pursuing.

Then, read what they write, listen to what they say, and go where they go. Write down and reflect on what you learn. This may mean budgeting your time to allow for reading, or using drive time, as my friend Dan Miller used to say, as your “auto university.” It may mean budgeting funds for attending conferences.

Experience

We learn, perhaps most, from experience. These experiences may be good, bad, or borrowed.

Good Experiences – Take time to proactively create good learning experiences. This may include travel or hands-on work. It may be working with a diversified skills team or participating in a workshop. It could even include taking on a new hobby or learning something outside your normal range of interests. Good experiences tend to be great for building relationships.

Bad Experiences – No one wants to have bad experiences and, certainly, no one plans to have them. But the truth is, humans tend to learn a great deal from bad experiences. The key is to foster the habit of asking, “What can I learn from this?” Reflect, write it down, and improve as a result of it. Bad experiences help build insight, strength, and character.

Borrowed Experiences – This goes back to the first concept of reading and meeting. You can learn from the experiences of others. In some cases, borrowed experience may help prevent you from having to go through a bad experience. It can certainly be less costly.

Act

Learning and development work hand-in-hand. Development is the action you take based on the learning. It’s the “do a little” after you have “learned a little.” Continuous learning alone won’t get you where you want to go. But acting on what you learn will carry you far.

Lead

They say if you really want to learn something, teach it. The act of teaching requires you not only to learn the material, but to be able to communicate what you have learned to others.

If you really want to develop yourself and others, lead. The act of leading requires that you learn your craft, but even more that you learn to understand, communicate, and connect with people.

This should come as great comfort to most leaders: You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. In fact, you should not be. But you should be smart enough to surround yourself with those who know what you don’t know.

Make REAL learning part of your strategic plan, and develop with intention.

Curious how your company measures up in this area, with real data you can take to the bank?  Connect with us or take the assessment here (https://www.orgiqsuite.com/). Get your Culture Scorecard today and get back on track to success.

Deb Ingino is a highly sought-after executive coach, mentor, consultant, and speaker worldwide. Deb is well versed in business operations and in the importance of asking key questions most business leaders won’t ask themselves. She brings deep experience in leadership development, strategy, high performance team building and effective communication. She has a passion for leading people to discover and maximize their strengths as well as those of fellow team members, while offering advanced strategies to achieve high performance. Deb is the perfect fit if you’re ready to take your leadership and impact to the next level!