Read to Lead

By Umara Shaikh

‘’Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body!’’- Joseph Addison.

In the continuous evolving world, what still has its base strong and firm are books. Though in digital forms, libraries or e-libraries, they provide an ocean of knowledge to dive in. As the title- ‘Read to Lead’ suggests, reading is not just limited to being a hobby but a tool to widen our thought process making it three dimensional and help us develop opinions, intellect and qualities- the foremost being ‘Leadership’. A reader is not just a reader but a thinker, innovator, observer and most importantly a leader.

History speaks for itself and every effective leader from the historical pages had once been a reader. Reading is the common factor between all the leaders worldwide. Therefore, if we dig deeper, we will find the traces of reading hidden in every trail left behind by a leader. So the pun is, readers are effective leaders or leaders tend to become readers? The answer to this can be easily explained- An employer who leads a group and then develops a reading habit is just the boss, but the one who is already a reader and assigned a task to direct the team becomes a leader!

We are facing constant changes in the technological world which is tremendously tilting towards the increased usage and impact of AI, not only on the organized sectors but on the unorganized sectors as well.

 ‘’Danger foreseen is half avoided.’’- Thomas Fuller. 

And to survive these waves of transformation, we must stay up-to-date with the on-goings to tackle the upcoming perils. We require a unique combination of skill set as well as proper knowledge about the views of professionals on the continuously switching trends, it is where reading acts as a cornerstone. Due to the consumption of essays, self-development books, news articles and informative posts our mind is continuously exposed to new ideas, cultures and perspectives. When mind is fed with such an intellectually rich content on a daily basis, it fuels our critical thinking, adaptability, curiosity to find the answers to our ‘why’, cultivating a habit of continuous learning. 

‘’Write to be understood, speak to be heard and read to grow.’’- Lawrence Clark Powell.

This quote clearly outlines the connection of growth with reading, and this growth is far better than the physical growth as this makes you mentally strong. When your brain is trained and capable of taking accurate decisions using the valuable information it is fed with as a routine, our robust muscles are directed to put an effort in the taken task. 

In any field, to reach or draw a conclusion, we need to thoroughly research every aspect that is concerned with the decision making process. When we invest our time reading about times when people where stuck on the same process, decision or method and their ways which succoured them out, the chances of us not repeating the same error reduces to a considerable percentage.

‘’Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.’’- Jim Rohn.

 Our head becomes a reservoir of insights adding depth and breadth to our cognition to assist us while we come to the required page. When we have access to a bundle full of related datum gathered from trusted sources, which we try to merge with our conscience, we get hold of the situational understanding and more comprehension. Our analytical skills activate as well and we opt for a balanced approach calculating all the pros and cons, risks involved, strategies needed and efforts required. These abilities we sub-consciously develop as a reader helps us shape ourselves as an eminent leader. And therefore we may stop and think, but we never think and stop. The thinking process is continuous and the manifestation of an idea over and over again, striking us like lightning bolts charging us to bring into action better, informed and innovative ways, to structure a better future for the coming generations. Making life simpler at present and easier ahead, this is exactly what a leader does, thinks ahead of time when everyone else is deep in slumber.

‘’Humans evolved from apes and AI is the ape today.’’- Prafful Garg.

 But being so technologically advance it still lacks the potential to overtake the field of communication. We being social animals connect with each other not just with words but are bounded by emotions. AI can never master the frequency of this emotional connection we crave for as humans. Who calls you a leader when a crowd of people is not compelled to be spellbound when you speak and listen with patient ears? 

The art of communication and story-telling is of utmost importance when you address a large mob presenting your vision with precision. Reading enhances vocabulary, language proficiency and articulation that channelize a way to captivate diverse audiences. Among all the skills required to acquire a desired post for a job, the topmost position is held by influential communication and that can never be replaced. It has a fixed space where it is to be mentioned in all the resumes circulated worldwide. From a clerk’s job to the post of a team leader, communication is a ‘must have’ skill, which polishes only with reading and practicing.

Not just news articles or essays but reading biographies and autobiographies allow us to take a peep into lives of great achievers, the hurdles that came along their way and the tactics used by them. Gandhiji says in his book – ‘My Experiments with the truth’-   

‘’I have always felt that the true text-book for a pupil is his teacher.’’

As no one can be a better teacher than experience and as far as a book is concerned it carries between its pages an experience of centuries to learn from. We are told that history repeats itself, so when this is a recurring action why not to learn from it and avoid the past mistakes for better outcomes! Taking suggestions even if we are not going to implement them, helps us to get clarity on our shattered and disintegrated plans, this is where reading comes to picture. When we read it enlightens our judgement taking capabilities and we are able to derive fruitful closures. What better leader you can become if you have mastered the art of reasoning and reaching necessary deductions with utmost accuracy! Leadership is an intricate skill set to acquire and reading is a cheat code to it.

While reading how we jump from one chapter to another, one book to another with two different genres yet our brain processing and feeding it right so that we don’t lack interest and adjust to the converting stories. This trains our mind to quickly adapt to the shifting environments without lacking the skill to comprehend and study the environment. For a leader adaptation is a necessary quality as anticipation of the changes and capitalizing it for the benefits of the fellow mates is of utmost importance.

‘’A boss has employees but a leader has followers.’’- Anonymous.

When people put their trust in you they start following you, whatever you wish is their command. Hence, a leader is responsible for the well-being and protection of the rights of the followers. In this state of unpredictability and irregularity, if one chooses to stay contemporary to the emerging technologies and the market trends by reading industry- specific journals and literature then this mindset can secure lives of many. Exactly the role of a leader! Though it be any industry, medical field- doctors have to stay informed about the diseases and their cures, engineering- they have to be paced with the new demands and meet them and commerce related fields- need not to mention, they work on precision though it be investment in stocks or capital venture.

The nostalgic feeling we get when we finish a fiction story, enjoying the roller coaster ride of emotions and then stopping on the soft note of a happy ending. This reading of fantasy and diverse literature stories ignites in a corner of our heart an emotional spark. This helps us to recognize and appreciate emotions, fostering a better and faster connection on an individual level. A leader without empathy is just a dictator. When you can reflect an emotional intelligence on personal level, you tend to leave everlasting marks on the sands on time. 

‘’Have more than you show, speak less than you know.’’- Shakespeare.

This is a perfect advice for a leader to follow. His actions must motivate his team and his way of speaking should not give then an inferiority complex. You commence paying heed to these small gestures that would ensure a harmonious work culture and also nurture positive relationships in an organization. Without the presence of correct algorithm of emotions, handling a team as a leader is an impossible task. With the character progression in a book, you develop an understanding of the human psychology and proven ways to handle an emotional breakdown. Reading good books showcasing family politics, love life traits and strong bonds of friendships against enmity provides a base to build our emotional leadership.

‘Oh, I am busy with my academics. How can I take out time to read books outside the curriculum! These hefty books are already a headache, moreover who is making me a leader. So just ignore it for now.’’ These excuses are pretty common and outdated, we have a thousand reasons to delay working on our betterment but couldn’t hold on to one purpose to continue with it. Prioritizing ourself and carving out time to read in this fast-moving world is challenging but not impossible.

‘’Where there is a will, there is a way.’’- Anonymous.   

If we pause and ponder for a minute, we observe that just by inculcating this knack of reading we sub-consciously add to our basket many more complementary skills. When we begin reading scheduling our busy time, we learn time management skills. Setting a target to read something daily infuses in us consistency and puts an end to our procrastination. Even if we shift to listening to audio-books, it improves our listening skills. When we strive to read no matter what and try to find new books, it confronts us with the researching skills and choosing the best based on our analysis, it aids our decision making skills. When we read a story and verbally share it with family and friends, it guides us to the skills of summarizing, story-telling and effective communication. Reading gives us a complete package of becoming a well-established leader, whose name stays engraved in golden letter in the hearts of many.

For those willing to lead the world with vision, wisdom and purpose need to make reading a part and parcel of their daily routine. Books are torches that illuminate the path of powerful leadership. No therapy in the world can imbue transformation within ones personality and traits better than a book. Reading changes our perspective 360 degree making our thought process dynamic and functional. We never know what opportunities might come our way and we would be able to grab them just as the result of our reading. 

Edward Lorenz coined the term- ‘The Butterfly Effect’ which refers to a theory that a tiny change in the atmosphere created by the flapping od the butterfly’s wings, may ultimately alter the path of a tornado or delay, accelerate, or even prevent the occurrence of a tornado in another location.

If we take the literary meaning, it means that small actions can result to greater happenings and we must not neglect the possibilities of this taking place in our lives. This habit of reading today can shape your tomorrow, even if you don’t wish to lead but surely stay hungry to read, as we never know, what might be the upshot of this. We may or may not become a leader but we will definitely become and updated version of ourselves!

‘’Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.’’- Margaret Fuller. 

By Umara Shaikh