Being a Continuous Learner: Using Good Study Habits

Posted on April 27, 2007 by Bruce Keener

Just about every leadership book states that effective leaders are continuous learners and voracious readers. (One of four books I’m reading, Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don’t, really hammers this point and talks about leaders such Jeff Immelt and Steve Jobs who use a high cognitive bandwidth to mentally sort through tons of information to see trends most of us never see.)

What sometimes goes unsaid is that we are all leaders. Whether we lead anyone else or not, we lead ourselves. And, as has been wisely said many times: you can never lead others until you lead yourself. Translation: we should all be continuous learners.

Being a good learner requires having good study habits. Some people are naturally better studiers than others, but we can all adopt some simple principles to help us in learning:

  • Before jumping into the details of a topic, do a good survey of it to get a broad picture.
  • Know upfront what your purpose is in reading a particular book/set of articles.
  • As you read, ask the basic questions of why, what, when, where, who and how.
  • Try to translate the author’s central thesis into your own language.
  • Review the material shortly after reading it, to help it stick in your mind.

Any other tips we should add in here?

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  • nowaynohow

    I only have a moment to comment, so I am going to write this response quickly.

    I truly believe in continual education. A thought, which came to mind, is perseverance and commitment. Life is busy, especially for a professional who has a family. There is never a lack of projects that need attention. Committing the time to studying is crucial along with the perseverance to follow through. There are other factors to studying that need to be considered as well. Some examples are lack of distractions, set routine, and a personal understanding of an individual’s unique study habits. Personally I find it helpful to write a white paper or an analytical essay (whatever you prefer to call it) documenting what was learned. There is no better way to embed new knowledge (unless you can teach it to someone else).

    This is also a good time to mention Time Management when it seems like 24 hours is not enough :)

    Continuous personal education is critical in order for a person to stay current in any profession.

  • http://www.dkeener.com/ Bruce Keener

    Great comments! I really like the idea of writing a white paper on what you learn. Something I don’t do often, so I appreciate the great reminder to do it.