Leadership Lesson #3–Keep Learning

     One of my favorite people is a member of our church named Jim.  He is also one of the most brilliant and simultaneously humble people I know.  He was one of the first surgeons in the United States to perform and perfect the original procedure for gastric bypass.  When Jim suffered a tragic automobile accident ten years ago this summer, he could have joined the ranks of the bitter and broken.  But he did not.  Jim inspires me like few other people because he loves to learn.  Now beyond age 80 and no longer in the operating room, he spends much of his time in a makeshift classroom at home (actually, it’s a virtual video studio), taking classes on DVD from some of the world’s leading scholars.  On subjects ranging from biblical archaeology to quantum physics, Jim still has a passion to learn.  His current course?  It’s on “dark matter.”

     I look forward to our lunch visits.  I just ask Jim a few questions about what he is studying, nod once in a while, and he thinks I’m smart.  Truth is, I leave those conversations feeling like a real poser much of the time.  But when I think about it, I am a lot more versed today than I was ten years ago.  Because of Jim, I read more.  It might just be so that I am not completely embarrassed at the next lunch, but at least I am making progress.  While I haven’t taken on dark matter yet, my subjects are expanding.  I made a commitment a couple of years ago to read at least two hours a day, usually in 30 minute segments.  I try to nourish my soul daily in four basic “food groups.”  I start with devotional reading in the morning (usually the classics of Christian literature), go to current periodicals and leadership stuff during the day, and finish at night with recreational reading (biographies, sports history or even the occasional True Crime story).  I am finding that the more I read, the more I realize how much there is to learn and how little time there is to accomplish it.

     One of the best books I have read lately (maybe ever) is Mark Batterson’s most recent–Primal.  Just his chapter on Holy Curiosity is worth the purchase price.  Mark suggests that when we stop learning, we stop living.  I believe he is right.  I know this: to lead we must learn.  No one knows enough already.  My friend Jim has forgotten more in his lifetime than I will probably ever learn.  If he is still asking questions, what’s our excuse for being content with what little we already know?

     So,  here is today’s assignment:  pick a subject, any subject, and learn something about it.  Maybe it’s a skill you need at work.  Or a skill you need at home.  More important than the knowledge we gain, we will learn to admit what we don’t know yet.  I guarantee that fact alone will raise our level of humility and increase our credibility with the people we serve and lead.  Have fun!