Want To Be A Better Leader?

Don’t be a slug

A research study was conducted a number of years ago on the reading habits of scientists. The researcher grouped the scientists into three categories. The first group was labeled “innovative.” These scientists exhibited the highest creative productivity as measured by patents.

The second group was labeled “productive.” These scientists were known for being technically proficient.

The third group was labeled “slugs.” They were neither innovative nor productive.
 
The study revealed that “slugs” read almost nothing. The “productive” scientists read almost exclusively in their field, while the “innovative” scientists (who were not always as technically up-to-date as their “productive” colleagues) read in a variety of fields. In fact, a great deal of the latter group’s reading was outside of their area of expertise. These scientists read everything — from science fiction to technical journals, from Popular Mechanics to Psychology Today — and therefore, held a diverse storehouse of information from which to generate new concepts.
 

A friend of mine, who is a leader in a food service organization, tells the young college graduates who work with him, “If you want to find out what’s going on in the food service industry today, read Restaurant Business or Food and Wine magazine. But if you want to find out what’s going to be going on in this field in the future, read Rolling Stone, Wired or Entrepreneur.”

Today, we’re all connected. Life and work are faster and more complex. Our world is smaller but our problems are bigger.  If you want to be a more creative leader, making connections to create new ideas is crucial for your success.  To be able to make those new connections you need new material to connect to.  That’s why innovative scientists were so successful.  They had greater access to more and different kinds of information than their “productive” counterparts.

In other words, you can read all the technical stuff in your field to find out what’s going on. But to spot the trends of the future and to get new information, you need to read outside of your area. Don’t have time to read? Then listen to podcasts and audiobooks. But don’t choose topics that focus solely on your business. Consciously look for topics in which you might be peripherally interested. Look for subjects that you are curious about. If you are listening in your car, keep your phone handy to record those new insights (no texting!)

Be ready for those new ideas to surface. You never know when you are going to get an insight that could lead to a breakthrough.  
 

Roger L. Firestien, PhD has taught more people to lead the creative process than anyone else in the world. He is senior faculty and an associate professor at the Center for Creativity and Change Leadership at SUNY Buffalo, author of Create in A Flash:  A Leader’s Recipe For Breakthrough Innovation and President of Innovation Resources, Inc.  Visit https://rogerfirestien.com/  Connect Roger L. Firestien Follow @RogerFirestien