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Leaders Are Readers? Nobody Cares

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No One Cares

Social media posts on LinkedIn at the end of each year are filled with people talking about how many books they’ve read over the last year or lamenting that they didn’t make their goal.  Posts in January are filled with resolutions about how many books a person plans to read.  Many of these posts include the hashtag #LeadersAreReaders.

I hate to break it to you, but no one cares about how many books you’ve read.  People care far more about who you are as a person and what you do. 

Leaders do read but that isn’t what makes them better.  Simply consuming information isn’t enough.

When I was a major, I had the privilege to attend the Air Force’s most prestigious academic program, the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.  Those familiar with this graduate school experience sometimes refer to it as the “book-a-day club” because the students average about four books a week.  After reading a book the day prior, students meet in small seminar groups facilitated by an instructor for a couple hours at a time to discuss and debate a book and about once a week we had to write a paper.  We also had to write a thesis and pass a verbal examination administered by a panel of our professors.  It’s a grueling program wherein some people struggled, and some people thrived.

In interacting with my peers, it became clear that those who struggled (i.e., exhausted, not faring well in debates or graded events) tended to stay up most of the night just to finish the book.  Those who were thriving (i.e., better rested, more content, and doing better in debates and on graded events) tended to skim the books for the major themes and spent most of their time thinking about the strengths, limitations, and applicability of the material.

Work smarter, not harder.  Make the most of your hard-won knowledge gained through experience, books, and other venues.  Think about what you can take from those sources to make yourself better.  You won’t have to post about how many books you’ve read because people will see it in your actions.  People will ask you how you handled something so well or solved a problem that befuddled others.

Leaders are thinkers; they observe, reflect, learn, and apply. Sometimes we learn from reflecting on our experiences and other times we have the opportunity to learn from others through books and other media.  In the words of noted philosopher and educator, John Dewey, “We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on our experience.”  Reflection is what unlocks the value of knowledge because it is the thought and consideration that allows us to understand the utility of what we have learned.  Put another way, if you have an experience, read a book, or view a lesson in the Accelerate Leadership Academy and you do not use that new knowledge to change something about your life, you are wasting your time.

Don’t settle for spinning your wheels.  Choose instead to accelerate your leadership.

Authored By: Jason Lamb, Managing Director

Jason Lamb

Jason is the United States Space Force's Talent Strategist. In this role, he is actively involved in crafting and executing the United States Space Force’s human capital strategy and plans. A nationally recognized thought leader in leadership and talent management, he advises Space Force senior leadership on how best to acquire, develop, engage, assess, promote, and employ its military and civilian members. Prior to his current position, Jason served over 25 years in the Air Force as an intelligence officer and retired in the rank of Colonel.

In uniform, Jason served with distinction in a variety of intelligence, staff, and command assignments in deployed combat environments, geographically dispersed organizations across the globe, and in the United States. As an intelligence group commander, he led over 650 personnel in eight units spread across four continents supporting everything from national decision making to time-sensitive tactical operations.  Jason has deployed in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, IRAQI FREEDOM, and ENDURING FREEDOM. During his career, Jason was recognized as the Air Force’s Intelligence Officer of the Year, graduated number one from his Air War College class, was awarded the Bronze Star in Afghanistan, and twice awarded the prestigious Legion of Merit.

While those accomplishments are noteworthy, he is perhaps best known for leading a significant culture shift in the Air Force and across the Department of Defense beginning with a series of articles he published under the pseudonym “Col Ned Stark.”  In those articles, Jason highlighted significant organizational culture and leadership alignment issues, provided root cause analysis, and offered innovative solutions resulting in the Chief of Staff of the Air Force offering him a senior position on his staff.  To the surprise of many, Jason chose to end his fast-track career and retire instead so that he could coach and engage with broader audiences.  The Space Force reached out to Jason to architect an innovative new approach toward talent management and leadership development that would ensure the long-term alignment of the newest armed service’s mission and values.  The result was The Guardian Ideal, described by the Chief of Space Operations as the single most important accomplishment of the Space Force to date.

Jason understands how to create and develop high-performing teams of teams.  He knows how to uncover organizational misalignment and dysfunction to craft tailored solutions that improve workforce retention and performance.  Jason is a proven leader and solver of wicked and complex problems.

Jason graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a degree in International Relations with a minor in Japanese.  He holds four advanced degrees in organizational management, national security policy, and strategy.  Additionally, Jason is an International Coaching Federation-certified professional coach with an additional certification as an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner.  He resides in Colorado with his wife and daughter.

Victory Strategies is a Veteran Owned Business.