LEADERS ARE READERS

I got to thinking after my post yesterday that leaders really are readers.  They are readers of lots of things.  I thought of at least 4 things leaders read:

LEADERS READ THEIR OWN HEART
This is easier said than done.  On the one side, Proverbs 4:23 challenges us to guard our heart above all else, for it is the epicenter of our life.  However, Proverbs 26:12 says that only a fool is wise in their own heart.  So, put those two verses together and you have a necessary leadership task that no leader can do on their own.  Thus, wise leaders looking out for the dangers of pride, self-righteousness, and false motivation, but are also smart enough to know they need some outside voices to help identify them.

LEADERS READ LITERATURE
Leaders read.  They intuitively know they don't have leadership nailed and that the wisest thing they can do is learn from others. So leaders realize there is a massive wealth of these lessons in print form.  So they read. Everything. Leaders learn from the successes and failures of others recorded in old school books, magazines, and various online/digital formats... like blogs... like this one. HA!!

LEADERS READ CULTURE
As a youth pastor, this one is constantly in my face.  People are always telling us that we need to be more of a student of teen culture and immerse ourselves in it so that we can relate to their world.  But that is not what I'm saying leaders do- not even youth pastors.  I'm saying that leaders realize they always operate inside a unique culture, regardless of where they go.  We have a national culture, a san diego culture, and church or workplace culture... etc.   Wise leaders learn to read their culture so they can speak accurately and profoundly in it.

LEADERS READ AUDIENCES
This is an art.  But mastery of it is one the things that separates good leadership from great leadership in my opinion.  When a leader is communicating or even listening, they are also analyzing.  They do this when the audience is one person or 5000 people. They are always analyzing non-verbals, environment, audience participation, laughter, emotion, and so much more. The greatest leaders are the one who can not only rightly identify what an audience is communicating back, but respond on the fly to their changing needs as a result.

There's my four.  What else do you think leaders read?