When does a leader stop learning?

I’ll be honest, this is a bit of a trick question! From my perspective, I don’t think a great leader ever stops learning (even after retirement!). The ability to continuously look, listen and absorb what’s happening around you, and adapt your actions, behaviours and decision making in response, is one of the qualities that makes a leader exceptional.    

The reason good leaders never stop learning is because we work with people. Human beings come with a hugely diverse range of perspectives. Observing and understanding other people’s views and opinions is what helps us to learn and improve both ourselves and our organisations.

The importance of renewing yourself as a leader

How often do you take time to stop and think about the kind of leader you want to be?

Reflection is an invaluable skill for a leader to possess. The ability to think carefully and deeply about situations, to consider the reasons why things have happened and what you might do differently in future is of huge benefit to the whole organisation and everyone in it.

Regular reflection on how you are performing in your leadership capacity can help to identify the areas in which you want to improve. Asking yourself whether you are meeting your own expectations can be hugely beneficial. Personally, I find it gives me clarity on the actions I need to take to become a better leader.

Continuous learning and development at Zest for Life

As a leadership development specialist, it’s right that I practise what I preach. I want to ensure I lead according to the needs of clients, leaders and their teams. That’s why I regularly set aside time to stop, reflect and consider how we can continually improve. As a result, I’m currently working on updating and upgrading the whole suite of Zest for Life training and development products.

I’ve been considering how I prepare, deliver and review our Exceptional Leadership Makes Sense programme to ensure it continues to evolve and deliver on my client’s objectives. I am renewing and refreshing all the programme content to make sure it hits the mark.

Client and delegate feedback plays a crucial role in learning and development. When clients share the challenges and situations they face in their organisations it helps me to become a better leader and respond to their needs.    

Allowing yourself to take time to consider if you are being the leader you want to be renowned for is incredibly powerful. It empowers you to identify and make small or large adjustments to create the desired effect and impact on your leadership legacy.

Improving your leadership legacy 

I believe the most successful leaders in this world are also life-long learners. As well as reflection, there are many other ways in which leaders can continuously learn and improve in their role. Here are a few:     

• Listen - to feedback, opinions, views from your peers, team members, customers and other leaders. What are they telling you they need from you?  

• Be accountable - own your mistakes and consider them as opportunities to improve. Set an example for others in learning to fail successfully.

• Never stop learning - seek to continuously improve your skills and knowledge through training and development.

• Get out of your comfort zone - try things you would have previously shied away from.

• Read to expand your leadership horizons - take a look at my free resources and leadership themed blog posts. Podcasts and videos are also brilliant resources if this is more your cup of tea.

• Meet other leaders - build your networks by attending events and open training. Sharing experiences, challenges and feelings is a rich source of learning.

Leadership development based on client needs

Every employee in your organisation sees and values their work differently. They have their own idea of what’s important to them and how they view success.

As their leader, you won’t ever get to know and understand how your team see the world of work if you don’t ask. When you make the effort to listen and learn you can change how you respond to, and support, your team’s varying wants and needs.

I do the same when I’m creating a development programme for a new client. I start by asking about current employee perspectives and how my client wants the training to influence these. I ask about the organisation’s objectives and how they would like the development programme to support these. I actively listen with the intention of understanding, and then I set about adapting the programme content and delivery to meet my client’s goals and objectives. This is leadership learning in action.

Zest for Life development programmes are based on client needs and on principles that can be adapted to become relevant to different circumstances - just like a good leader’s response to their team’s varying wants and needs. We never stop learning!