5 WAYS TO LEARN FROM OTHERS

Are you a leader that is seeking for new ways to learn, improve and grow? Do you know that some of the insights you need to become a better leader lie in the people around you and not just in books we read, seminars or conferences that we attend? You can learn a lot from your people if you tap into these five actions:    

1. Make learning your passion: Albert Einstein once said that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." A good leader never stops learning. Learn to approach people with the desire to learn. Pick the best from every interaction and communication.

2. Value people: Getting to know more about the people we meet and interact with, sharing ideas and information, being personable and appreciative can help you discover new ideas from others.

3. Develop relationships with growth potential: Not any and everybody can teach us what we ought to learn. Rather we should seek to build meaningful relationships with people of like minds—that is people who share your ideas, dreams and vision.

4. Identify people's uniqueness and strengths: There is this inner joy we feel when we receive accolades for doing something good. The key to ensuring that we grow in our areas of strength is to identify the strengths of others, seek to learn from them and apply what we have learnt to ourselves.

5. Ask questions: An old proverb says: "he who asks the right questions never goes the wrong way." Learning to ask the right questions not only brings about growth and change in our lives, but also helps us to get to know and understand others better.

Learning from others requires us to desire to value people, develop meaningful relationships, learn from people's strengths and ask the right questions. Never give up even when there are turn-downs, always remember there will always be someone to learn from and everyone has got something to teach others.

Most importantly, apply what Jim Rohn the well-known motivational speaker once said: "Don't let your learning lead to knowledge—Let your learning lead to action."

 "Adapted from Winning With People", by John C Maxwell