This chapter could be switched up to the acronym ABL. Always Be Learning. It turns out in the real world that successful leaders are constantly learning. They are avid consumers of information, and often participate in groups with other people who share the same ambitions. Sometimes where people fall short is in sharing that information or disseminating it effectively across the organization. An ABL mindset is usually promoted and celebrated, but it often gets "lost in the wind” of the myriad of routine business priorities. Having some self-accountability and team accountability built into this skill helps nudge people along. This can be accomplished in organizations by having “lunch and learn” meetings, in which small groups of people (8-10) meet-up and answer one question: What is something new you are learning right now? This opens conversation that organically invites people to share information about their passionate interests, and is a disarming process that builds trust among co-workers. Another common group is a typical book/podcast/audiobook club. People can divide up the chapters, post the cliff notes and have a meet-up, and now AI can make a podcast of the notes for the entire organization to download and listen to at their leisure. This is an example of practical democratization of knowledge and leveraging collective intelligence.

 

When is it too much? Sometimes people get into a bad habit of having to know everything. They’re spending their weekends catching up articles from the Harvard Business Review and the like instead of taking care of themselves, or spending quality time with their friends or family. First, It’s an unrealistic expectation to know everything. Second, instead of focusing on just knowing more, one can focus on knowing more about one specific subject area, otherwise known as subject matter expertise. With a more deliberate focus, you can avoid being in the trap of excessive information consumption.

 

Another question to ask yourself is what your sensory preference is for learning. Audio, visual, in-person? Mine is audio. I’m a huge podcast consumer, and spend about 90% of all driving time listening to a consortium of podcasts on leadership, longevity and medical breakthroughs, outdoor adventures, and Italian (a language I am currently learning). Orient as much of your learning to your preferred modality.

 

The Exercise:

To make your ABL effective and efficient, you should develop a simple plan for the year, which you can always modify if your interests or professional needs change. These are the categories you can fill.

 

Conferences: In-Person

Conferences: Virtual

Webinars: Weekly/Monthly/One-off

Books: 1/month (print and/or audio)

Trade Journals: # of hours per week

Podcasts: Weekly Shows University Classes/Advanced

Institutes: One per year or bi-annual