Legendary UCLA Basketball coach John Wooden said this, which I have cherished for years. This quote has inspired me to be on a journey of lifelong learning.

When you sign up for leadership, you also sign up for continual learning. Striving to improve, gain more knowledge, develop, or acquire skills required to be more effective in your leadership.

In my emails for this week and next, I will briefly remind us of the ways in which we can learn. At the onset, I must remind us that we need to be intentional.

Learning only happens with time. Your leadership is sharpened when we make intentional learning a priority.

One of the ways we learn is from OUR EXPERIENCES. Every encounter, every meeting, and every issue/challenge we encounter is an opportunity to learn. There is an old saying, “Experience is the best teacher.” Well, that statement is only partially true. The “evaluated experience” will prove to be the best teacher. The teaching occurs only after we ask the critical question— “What is the lesson here? What went right? What went wrong?” We need to form the habit of turning our losses into lessons. There is NEVER FAILURE, only lessons.

Another way to learn is through reading. As I work with leaders, reading is at the bottom of the list. (Not enough time ) is the answer I typically receive.

This is true: Readers aren’t always leaders, but Great Leaders are ALWAYS READERS. Reading is a choice; we will never have more time. It is about an intentional commitment to growth. Reading has a role.