There is danger that faces every leader who has been at it for a while. I like to think of it as a, “subtle shift” that creeps into our minds over time.

We start to believe that we know everything we need to know.

It makes sense how it happens. We gain experience, expertise, and knowledge in our field. We get accolades from our peers. People look to us for advice and guidance. This is an amazing season for most leaders, and let’s face it – we’ve earned the position. The problem is that we can start to believe the fallacy that the teacher doesn’t need to learn anymore. We can become so busy guiding and leading that we neglect our own personal growth and development.

Great leaders understand how to be both teacher and student….leader and learner…giver and receiver. We must not get so comfortable in the role of sage that we forget to adopt a learner’s mentality. Leaders who are committed to learning will discover the juicy truth found in the title of this blog. We can learn from everyone. The new employee…the intern…the maintenance team…the administrative assistants. Everyone who crosses our path has a unique cocktail of experience and wisdom that is available to us. We just have to be humble enough to look for it and listen to it.