The statement, “Leaders Are Readers,” as others point out, has become ubiquitous on social media platforms like LinkedIn. Whether or not people who share that sentiment know of President Truman’s quote doesn’t diminish what he meant by saying it. Some people do innately possess powerful leadership attributes and abilities, most do not. Leadership is learned, and anyone, in my experience, can become better leaders through educating themselves. For example, a person might possess a charismatic poise and presence that others are excited to follow. Simply having that trait doesn’t make one a good, let alone a great, leader.

Successful leadership is a journey, not a destination, and should be continually cultivated for improvement and impact. I agree with other leaders who share that the simple act of consuming information is not curating better leadership character or capabilities. What is read must be digested, discerned, and displayed.

However, people aren’t always going to ask questions of leaders who are seen as successful. Leading thousands and thousands of people over my 30 years in the Air Force, I know full well that only the small, select few will ever actually ask probing questions like, “how did you learn to become a (good) leader?” or “what do you recommend I read or do to become a leader, or better at leadership?”

Eleven years ago, this month, I completed a one-year National Security research fellowship at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Other than myself, no one cares that I read 32 books, tens of thousands of pages of articles, research papers, and other materials. No one cares about the thesis project I had to write that needed to pass muster of a world-renowned professor who for years led The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Absolutely true; no one cares about those details. What they do care about is one of the lessons learned from that not just formative, but transformative educational and experiential learning environment. That was the resonant requirement to share what I was reading, researching, and realizing through my own applied approaches to leadership.

The summer following fellowship graduation, I began writing a weekly Readers Are Leaders missive which includes links or list of what I’ve been reading, and commentary using my own applied examples or thinking about the subject matter. Over time, particularly as my professional and personal responsibilities grew, that moved to a monthly offering. For many years, it was solely a shared email thread. Starting with just a few people at first, it has grown to a distribution of well north of 400 recipients today.

In January of 2023, I started sharing those monthly lists on LinkedIn. I took a three-month hiatus from October to December 2023 while I transitioned to post-Air Force life, but those posts to date have been viewed nearly 70,000 times.

In addition, about one year ago, I started sharing or resharing articles, book reviews, and other thought-pieces on Mondays and Fridays (titled Monday Musings & Foundational Fridays), sparked by my professional and personal reading habit. There are another nearly 80,000 views of those materials.

Based upon the feedback I have received as commentary in my public feed and also private messages and emails, in just the past year on LinkedIn, let alone the past decade as requests to be added to the email distribution flowed, including from people I’ve never met, people do care what leaders are reading. If even a small slice of those 150,000 views ignites intellectual curiosity to read the shared selections, then others are learning to become better leaders. Some of those same learners are most likely applying those lessons.

Again agreed, credibility comes from application, but people do care and want to know what leaders are reading, particularly those they respect and admire. They want to not only emulate the good they see in leaders, but they also want to know how to learn the craft themselves. Simply seeing it in practice is not the same as understanding how to deliberately develop those skills for themselves. The best leaders are focused on developing other leaders. This is true leadership legacy that can be lived by sharing where we spend time reading, learning, and yes, applying. Sharing our lists, and our thoughts, is like giving driving directions to someone trying to find a yet unknown or undiscovered destination.

Here at Victory Strategies, at least on my VS-issued bookmark, the statement I see every time I pull it from the book I’m reading is; “It is no coincidence that leader rhymes with reader.” We can teach you why to read for purpose and how to best apply what you’re learning.

Authored By: Shawn Campbell, Managing Director