Perhaps one of my favorite areas of Life Management as a leader is study. I have always loved to learn. Whether it was trying to figure out how to put a puzzle together, how a toy worked, or reading my latest Dr. Seuss book as a child, I wanted more information, and I wanted to know what I could do with it. Perhaps that’s why as an adult I developed these formulas: Information – Application = Information, but Information + Application = Transformation! The end goal of study is not to be the best informed leader around, but to see ourselves and our teams grow and change. The Apostle Paul reminded us not to be conformed or molded to the patterns of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Therefore, if we’re going to lead we must always be gaining the transformation that comes from the renewing of our minds.
As leaders we must be intentional about the process of study, which as Rick Warren once said is reading with a notebook in hand. While reading is important, reflection is the key to turning our reading (or watching or listening) into transformation. For example, right now I’m reading the book Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win. The book is ideally structured for study and learning, because each section contains a real-life situation from the authors’ time of serving as active duty Navy SEALs in Iraq. Then they draw a principle from the situation as well as a business application for the principle. Typically, they also offer examples from their lives as business consultants for how the principle was applied or NOT applied by businesses with whom they worked. I often use the front and back “white spaces” in books for my initial study notes as I read, noting key quotes and page numbers. Then I return to them after I’ve read the book, and transfer those notes to notes I will use for applying in my own life, teaching other leaders, or as fodder for a leadership post, or book I’m writing.
I’ve found that studying for the sake of personal growth is one of the most important quadrant II activities of my life. Many of us miss out on this opportunity because we “don’t have the time.” As with all quadrant II activities–those that are important, but not urgent–it doesn’t seem that we have the time to do them. After all, they don’t scream for our attention when we don’t. What I’ve found over the years, though, is when I don’t schedule time in my calendar to read and reflect (or watch/listen and reflect) I lose my edge as a leader. While most of the deepest and most profound leadership truths come from the Bible and are simply repeated in different ways in the books we read, podcasts we hear, and videos we watch, I find that the old adage, “repetition is the mother of learning,” to be true in my life. While I read the Bible daily and return to it often for the leadership principles that last, the other input I receive from books, podcasts and videos helps me to see everyday life applications as well.
In reading Extreme Ownership, I have been reminded of one of the most important truths of all by their statement: It isn’t what you preach. It’s what you tolerate. I’m a preacher so that statement caught my attention immediately and really hit home. It’s a succinct way of saying that we can talk all we want about principles and standards, but the behavior we accept is the level of behavior we’re going to get. We can say our company’s motto is excellence, but if we accept any effort an employee puts forward whether strong or weak, weak becomes the standard and excellence goes out the window. As we study whether in books, videos, podcasts, or by life observation, the key is to reflect so we can draw out the principles, the standards, and the repeatable processes that will make us and those we lead people of greater integrity and effectiveness across the spectrum of life management and across the spectrum of culture and behavior, whether in our families, workplaces, or whatever environment it is that we are leading at the time.
Study is a building block for every area of life management, as well as for every growing leader. Unless we are learning and growing ourselves we can’t expect our teams to be growing, because it isn’t what we preach. It’s what we tolerate! We must set the standard of lifelong study and learning AND application in order to continue to be transformed ourselves, and in order to see those around us continue to grow and develop. As Bill Hybels has often said, “The speed of the leader, the speed of the team.” Nowhere is this truer than when it comes to study and application in our lives.
Here’s to leading better, but study consistently and effectively–today and into the future!