Leaders Are Readers

Did you know that every great leader is a reader?

President Harry S. Truman said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” As reported in Inc., Warren Buffet spends as much as six hours a day reading. He holds a reputation for being a prodigious reader. He said himself, “I just sit in my office and read all day.”

Other well-known successful leaders like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates attribute their success to daily reading, while running their business.

There are countless reasons why leaders read, and I will highlight a few in this blog. For starters, according to Buffet, he insists that anyone hoping to achieve success should go to bed a little smarter each day and I like his idea because it makes sense.

In addition, reading is the most efficient way to acquire information, and leaders’ need general information to gain new perspectives and seize opportunities, but more importantly, it elevates analytical tools.

Another important reason is that reading improves our communication skills. Our vocabulary increases which transfers to proficiencies in speaking and writing, which makes a leader more adept and an articulate communicator. In a leadership role, words are powerful tools, whether you want to persuade or motivate, if you know how to construct and convey a message correctly, you will get things done as leader.

Reading helps us improve our people skills and allows the opportunity to interact with others. Whether it is reading novels, blogs, biographies, or memoirs, it gives us the opportunity to envision someone else’s experience or walk in their shoe by expanding our ability to see beyond our own, which has the potential to boost emotional intelligence.

In our current landscape of change, reading is more important than ever before for leaders, because reading is an excellent way to develop the insights and qualities essential in leadership for the road ahead.