According to Sangeeth Varghese writing for The Leading Edge column on Forbes.com, leaders should educate themselves at every moment.
Varghese says: "Learning is like the weather. Everybody talks about it, but nobody does much about it. True leaders, though, can never be switched off to learning opportunities."
The author maintains that true leaders have a "permanent leader's permit", learning from even the most mundane things and constantly growing.
According to Varghese, broadly speaking there are three ways in which leaders maintain their learning and growth.
1) Leaders learn constantly: "They actively strive to learn at every moment. They view taking a break as a chance to chew on information newly acquired, and to create an ideal state for imbibing more new information."
2) Leaders learn continuous: "Research has shown that it is more efficacious to study for one hour straight than for two hours with interruption. Interruptions break our train of thought and limit our ability to retain information."
3) Leaders learn cynically: "They understand that life is never one-dimensional. It must be studied from every side and turned upside down. They learn by repetition and repeated review. Whatever subject they choose, they always find more to learn."
The Leader's Lifelong Learner's Permit
Sangeeth Varghese, Forbes.com, 01/06/09
