Top Four Leadership Legacy Skills: #3 Knowledge-Seeker

I have something important to admit. I am a pluviophile. It’s true. I think I’ve been like this most my life. There is something comforting about rainy days. Wait. You do know what a pluviophile is, right? A pluvioph

ile is someone who loves rainy days. We had a rainy day last evening in our community. This rainy day turned into a thunderstorm which was peaceful and relaxing for me. I know I may be unique, but there is something calming about these days. As you can see, many reading may have learned something new today -- pluviophile. This, the ability to learn information, is our #3 trait in our “Top Ten Leadership Legacy Traits” – knowledge-seeker.

Our job as a school leader can quickly be overrun by answering questions, putting out fires, and creating pathways for effective communication. We may be up to our ears in budgets, hiring, and evaluations. But, if we do not take the time to be a seeker of knowledge, we will grow stagnant in our own growth and development as a human being. Below are five ways to increase your capacity in seeking knowledge.

#1: Use Social Media. Specifically, I recommend Twitter. You may be cringing. But, hear me out. Select entities to follow that increase your own capacity. I started my Twitter journey by following people I respected and from whom I wanted to learn. I then looked to see who they were following and followed those people. I quickly gained a social media feed that was chalk full of great professional reading and learning. I also added news organizations to my feed, and now keep up on news through Twitter, too.

#2: Read books. I was at a school conference last week and my son’s principal shared with me how she is part of the 60-book challenge for 2018. The challenge is to read 60 books in over a year. I thought first, “Man how could I do that?” Then, I realized if it was important I could. So, I have set a goal of 24 books this year (2 a month). I wanted to be sure to reach my goal and leave room for surpassing that goal. But, if you want to follow my son’s principal in her journey, check her feed out at @princiPAL99.

#3. Listen. This seems simple, right. But, I bet it’s harder than you think. Challenge yourself to listen for 20 minutes a day. This can be news, engaging in a conversation, Ted Talks, NPR, anything. But, here is the kicker. You must only listen. You can’t be on a phone, computer, or doing something else. Engage in the skill of listening. You will be surprised.

#4: Build a Question Bank. I keep a list of questions that I want to investigate and learn more about personally. For example, I saw a post about immigration (don’t worry I won’t get political) and the person arrested (a doctor with no adult criminal activity) had a green card, but had not applied for citizenship. I really did not know what the limitations were of having a green card. I also did not know what the requirements were for citizenship. So, I spent time researching. This topic had nothing to do with my profession and had no bearing on my personal life. But, I felt much more satisfied than I had in a while because I took the initiative to learn something new.

#5. Journal. I know, right? This isn’t ‘Dear Diary”, lock it with a key, and keep under you mattress. Research shows that reflection is a powerful learning tool to help move information from short- to long-term memory. For someone who just found out he must wear bifocals (or progressive lenses as they are called now), and has some gray hair coming in a very distinguished way, the importance of moving information from short- to long-term memory has new meaning. Journaling allows us to reflect on the day, find patterns in our thinking, and help us sleep better at night.

While you certainly do not have to do any of these or can do these, the ability to be a knowledge-seeker helps you professionally, personally, emotionally, and even spiritually. I encourage you to pick one and get started. Who knows. You might find out you’re a pluviophile, too.