READ to LEAD
A Habit that Differentiates Good from Great
Image by Alexei Maridashvili from Unsplash
There’s a connection between leadership and reading that’s backed by research. Studies demonstrate that by and large, the most effective leaders are big readers. This pattern reveals something fundamental about leadership development.
Reading expands our knowledge base and sharpens critical thinking skills, but its true power is deeper. Reading keeps us intellectually curious, exposes us to perspectives we’d never encounter in our day-to-day, and allows us to learn through others’ triumphs and failures. Instead of stumbling through every mistake ourselves, we can absorb decades of wisdom in a few hours via a good book. This accelerated learning curve is what gives readers a distinct advantage in navigating the complexities of live, career, and leadership.
Yet here’s the paradox: while most leaders understand the value of reading broadly, fewer grasp the transformative power of reading deeply. Over a lifetime, we might consume a thousand books, but only a handful will fundamentally reshape how we see ourselves and the world. Author Sahil Bloom offers worthy advice on this front:
The advice is, identify those rare, paradigm-shifting books that have changed you for the better, and re-read them annually. The brilliance of this practice lies in its recognition that we are not static beings. The person who reads a transformative book at thirty will extract entirely different insights when returning to the same pages at forty or fifty. Our evolving experiences, challenges, and perspectives create new resonances with the text, revealing layers we simply couldn’t perceive before.
This principle of intentional re-reading has profoundly shaped my own leadership and career. Three books have earned permanent spots on my re-read list:
— SAVVY by Ingrid Law; Categorized as young-adult fiction, Savvy contains profound truths about taking your place at the table as you discover and lean in to your unique gifts, whatever they may be. Savvy offers a powerful reminder that leadership isn’t about conforming. It’s about inspiring and serving.
— Linchpin by Seth Godin; Linchpin challenges us to build credibility with ourselves and others in part by bringing our full creativity and humanity to our work.
— Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chögyam Trungpa; Shambhala grounds leadership in presence, courage, and gentleness — Not-easy qualities that you’ll find are increasingly essential in turbulent times.
There is a connection between leadership and leading. The nuance of course is that reading alone doesn’t guarantee leadership ability. What matters too is how one reads. Effective leader readers read strategically (seek knowledge they can apply), diversely (across fields ), and reflectively (think critically about what they consume).
There’s truth to the adage “Leaders are Readers, but the nuance and more-accurate statement really is this: Continuous learners make better leaders, and reading is one of the most efficient ways to learn.
In a world of accelerating change, this learning posture isn’t optional — it’s the foundation of adaptive leadership. What books have changed you? Which books deserve your time and attention again? Leaders who read tend to be the ones who grow long after others have plateaued.