The leadership benefits of reading are wide-ranging. Evidence
suggests reading can improve intelligence and lead to innovation and insight. Some studies have shown, for example, that
reading makes you smarter through "a larger vocabulary and more world
knowledge in addition to the abstract reasoning skills." Reading — whether
Wikipedia, Michael Lewis, or Aristotle — is one of the quickest ways to acquire
and assimilate new information. Many business people claim that reading across
fields is good for creativity. And leaders who can sample insights in other
fields, such as sociology, the physical sciences, economics, or psychology, and
apply them to their organizations are more likely to innovate and prosper.
Reading can also make you more effective in leading others.
Reading increases verbal intelligence,
making a leader a more adept and articulate communicator. Reading novels can improve empathy and understanding of social
cues, allowing a leader to better work with and understand others — traits that
have increased
organizational effectiveness, and led to pay raises and promotions for the leaders
who possessed these qualities. And any business person understands that
heightened emotional intelligence will improve his or her leadership and
management ability.
Finally, an active literary life can make you more personally
effective by keeping you relaxed and improving health. For stressed executives,
reading is the best way to relax, as reading
for six minutes can reduce stress by 68%, and some studies suggest reading may even fend off Alzheimer's extending the
longevity of the mind.
Helen Woodall
Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and
non-fiction. Rates on application.
No comments:
Post a Comment