10 Leadership Maneuvers: A General's Guide to Serving and Leading by Loren M. Reno

Author:Loren M. Reno [Reno, Loren M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Deep River Books
Published: 2015-09-14T04:00:00+00:00

SEVEN

READ TO LEAD

Books may be one of the most underused resources available for leaders. Maybe it is because leaders are better at going than slowing, at rushing than reflecting, at pressing than resting. To sit and read requires putting the brain into a different gear.

I’m not talking about speeding through unread e-mails, the online news and sports, Early Bird news summaries, or a journal, though all those have their place. I am talking about sitting in the quiet and submerging up to your waist or even chest in a book you can’t read in an hour.

We Don’t Know Everything

Reading can obviously be an excellent source of information. So why is it that the higher up the leadership ladder we progress, the less reading we do? Having served in some big jobs, I can say it is not because senior leaders have all the answers. It seemed to me that the higher I went, the broader my responsibilities became and the more information I needed to just keep up.

When I was a senior Air Force officer, I periodically received books that were on a selected reading list. This made it convenient for me to stay current with what my peers were reading, and it continued to develop me in areas that benefitted me as a military leader. Some were historical or inspirational; others dealt with policy or strategy. All of them greatly helped me.

I have attended conferences where every attendee received a book. Given the cumulative expense, this is usually an indication that someone, probably the leader, thought this was a good selection for us.

I get ideas for good reading from other places. I sometimes buy books on reading lists from sources I respect. I am also always on the lookout for new books from some of my favorite authors: John Maxwell, Max Lucado, David Jeremiah, Mark Hitchcock, Clive Cussler, Jerry Jenkins, and other prolific and proven authors. Naming these authors gives away some of my interests, but it also reveals a way to limit the field of the thousands of books that become available each month. Balance is the key: new and proven authors, variety in subject matter, and reading that is wholesome.

Usually I have a stack of yet-to-be-read books waiting their turn, and sometimes others cut in line. You may also think there is no way to read the books people give and recommend to you, or those you obtain from other sources. That’s fine; keep at it anyway, because good leaders are good readers.

There is value and enjoyment that come with reading. The value is in learning, and the enjoyment is in going places in your mind that you may not yet be able to visit in person.

New Ideas, Old Successes

Part of the value in reading goes beyond gaining information for today; it is also gathering ideas for tomorrow. I have told many young Air Force officers and college students that they need to read more than technical journals and material that is about their work.

When we read widely, we accumulate new ideas and learn about past successes.

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