In the information, we’re swimming in data. However, one of the essential things for business and nonprofit leaders is to get used to reading books. Sure, anything is searchable. And if you read articles digitally, you could get a lot of information. But, there are critical reasons why book reading is a skill that leaders must cultivate if they don’t already. This article will explain some of the benefits you’ll get from reading books and long-form content.
1. Reading Books Stimulates Your Mind and Growth to Make You Smarter
In the digital age, we know there’s a ton of information available. As the nation’s largest social enterprise leader for shoe drive fundraisers, I’ve seen enormous change since we started the company. A lot of it has to do with the power of technology. Of course, tech and artificial intelligence have disrupted organizations. As a result, leaders need to process things in creative ways mentally, and so do team members. Thus, one of the best ways you could nurture creativity is by reading books. It also makes you smarter because it gives you a more profound understanding of ideas.
The fact is that your brain is a muscle. And just like any muscle, you need to exercise it. Consider the use of your legs, for example. If you don’t use your legs and walk, jog, or run, your legs atrophy. The same holds for your brain. In short, you need to work that muscle, and the best way to do it is to become an avid book reader. Book reading stimulates your brain, in the process also developing your intellectual muscles. As a matter of health, studies have shown a link between book reading and slowing the progress of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
2. Absorbing Long-Form Content Trains Your Brain for Marathons
We have massive amounts of information we process every day. All day long, we’re going through data and information at the office. Perhaps we read some of the top news stories. And like it or not, millions engage in social media. While we know that time on social media is not necessarily good for human minds, big tech companies continue to work at keeping people engaged on social as long as possible. As a result, the synapsis and wiring in our brains get used to quick information processing.
Ultimately, if you spend your time focused on only micro-tasks and processing lots of small quantities or condensed amounts of information, your brain has trouble with long-form content. In other words, it gets that much harder to read books and to have the patience or ability to process information that takes a more extended amount of your time. Ultimately, that’s a negative because your focus and concentration for tasks that take more of your time get compromised. So, reading books allows you to develop the ability to focus for more extended periods, which is essential for problem-solving.
3. Books Provide Deeper Information to More Complex Problems
As we move further into the digital age, the reality is that the challenges will become only more complex for business and nonprofit leaders. While technology companies work to ensure that they make tech as user-friendly and easy as possible, people need minimal fluency. Meaning, business leaders will find it increasingly impossible to understand how to overcome challenges using technology if they aren’t deeply versed.
While articles and discussions are good for providing information, reading books allows leaders to understand things deeply. There’s no way around it. For example, suppose you want to know how to integrate artificial intelligence into your organization. In that case, you have to deeply understand the implications of tech and business operations before making critical decisions. Books allow you to understand topics in profound and meaningful ways that you just can’t get by reading lots of news or business articles.
4. Improving Your Memory and Critical Thinking
Again, nonprofits and businesses in the modern era operate in a highly complex environment. And it’s only going to become more complicated as technology evolves. Reading books is essential for ensuring your memory recall and critical thinking. Both of those elements, in turn, are vital for the success of your organization in the contemporary work environment. Let’s face it, not everyone’s a techie or has the mind of an engineer. However, reading books allows you to develop the memory to retain essential information on the modern work era’s moving parts and ideas.
As you read books, you have to remember characters, ideas, or themes, which improve critical thinking. As you get deeper into any book, your mind will engage with the book. In other words, your brain will start to consider if what you read makes sense to you or not. That’s critical thinking. When you read books, you’re forming judgments about what you read. The more complex the information, your mind will evaluate, rationalize, and determine what to do with the data. Critical thinking happens both in fiction and nonfiction books.
5. Books Help You Become a Better Leader
Reading books helps you become a better leader in a variety of ways. For instance, if you’re a student of leadership—as I am—you’ll learn more ways to develop and improve your leadership skills by reading some of the best books on leadership. But it doesn’t end there; reading nonfiction books about self-development allows you to become more empathetic and understand others. When you do that, of course, you become a better leader because you’re leading with your humanity.
The more you read, the more you learn. But you also discover a lot about yourself. In doing so, you open up to new ideas, experiences, or emotions. All of it helps you understand yourself better as you negotiate or reason why you like or dislike something you read. Ultimately, this information and the realizations you obtain from reading help you know yourself better. With awareness and gained understanding, you improve both as a person and a leader with ever more confidence in your decisions.
© 2021 Not Your Father’s Charity & Wayne Elsey. All Rights Reserved.
