It’s been said that leaders are readers, and I’ve always found that to be true. As we move through the summer, a traditional season for reading more for pleasure, it’s good to remember the value of taking an intentional approach to our reading – a staple best-practice for lifelong learning and maintaining a growth mindset.
NOTABLE
» A survey by YouGov found that 40% of Americans didn’t read a single book in 2025 and another 27% read four or fewer.
Those statistics are in line with the organization’s survey results in 2023 and 2024. Healthline, meanwhile, cited several research studies that found reading strengthens the brain, increases empathy, builds our vocabulary, improves our sleep, and improves our mental and physical health.
QUOTABLE
» Winning Words
Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit: and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know, that he doth not.
– FRANCIS BACON
Essays (1625) ‘Of Studies’
I read my eyes out and can’t read half enough. . . . The more one reads the more one sees we have to read.
– JOHN ADAMS
letter to Abigail Adams, Dec. 28, 1794
Resolve to edge in a little reading every day, if it is but a single sentence. If you gain 15 minutes a day, it will make itself felt at the end of the year.
– HORACE MANN
The Common School Journal, October 1843
DOABLE
» 3 Key Plays
1. Read for homework
Reading is often required for adults who are gainfully employed. We read trade journals. We read reports. We read industry news. We read books, blogs, and articles about our business and about the things that might affect our business.
In short, we read whatever we can that might give us an advantage because of the information we learn and the skills we might develop.
Many of the books I read these days are in preparation for my podcast interviews, but I also read a great deal to prepare for board meetings or to stay informed about trends related to the business of those boards.
2. Read for non-work
Reading for pleasure might include content that’s considered homework. I actually heard a story the other day about an HVAC repair specialist who reads technical guides just for fun, not just when he needs to find some specific bit of information.
More typically, of course, reading for pleasure has nothing to do with work. I love autobiographies, memoirs, and biographies, for instance. Some people love fiction or poetry. Some like a little of just about every genre out there.
If nothing else, these types of books (or articles) can help us relax and free our mind of the cares of the day. But more often than not, they are also instructive because they change the way we think, the way we see the world, and the way we understand people. If a book is well-written, odds are it will be full of leadership lessons, even if they are presented in plot and dialogue rather than as a framework or theoretical model.
3. Read for soul work
Our regular reading list, I firmly believe, needs to strengthen more than our mind. It also needs to build muscles at the soul level by helping us define our values while inspiring and equipping us to live them in our daily lives.
I regularly read passages from the Bible, along with blogs, articles, and books that speak to core principles of life such as integrity, humility, and service to others.
When I read for work, pleasure, and spiritual growth, I find myself better equipped to navigate the daily challenges of life as a leader. I think you’ll find that true, as well. So thanks for reading this blog! Hopefully, it added a little value to your day.
