The best leaders I’ve met have one thing in common: they never stop learning.
They read constantly, ask hard questions, and stay curious about the world around them. David Novak, the former CEO of Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut), calls this being a “relentless learner.” In his research and interviews with leaders like Jamie Dimon, Indra Nooyi, and Tom Brady, he found that the most successful people treat learning as a daily discipline, not a stage to complete. Just as important, they turn that learning into action. They don’t just absorb ideas; they apply them. That distinction between knowing and doing has shaped my entire career.
The Mentor Who Shaped My Thinking
When I was twenty-six, I became the CEO of one of the Rockefeller Foundations. I was young, inexperienced, and very aware that I was in over my head. Mr. Rockefeller decided to assign me a mentor. His right-hand man, Charlie Owen, became one of the most influential teachers of my life.
Every Monday morning, Charlie would walk into my office, set a book on my desk, and say, “I’ll see you Friday for your book report.” On Fridays, we’d go to Em’s Home Cooking for chili and cornbread and he would grill me. Why did the author make that argument? What did I agree with? How would it apply to my work? Then he would ask for my three biggest takeaways, write them down, and tell me I was accountable for putting them into action.
The next Monday, there was another book. That went on for seven years.
He also brought me along to important meetings and negotiations. I would sit quietly in the back of the room, taking furious notes while brilliant executives negotiated deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Later that night, Charlie would sit across from me at dinner and ask, “What did you learn? What did they do right and what did they miss? What would you have done differently?” Then he would finish with the same question: “What are your three biggest takeaways, and how will you use them?”
Those years taught me that learning is not about collecting information. It’s about translating insight into disciplined action.
From Learning to Doing
That’s exactly what Novak describes in his book How Leaders Learn: Master the Habits of the World’s Most Successful People. The best leaders, he says, have three ways of learning.
They learn from others such as mentors, truth tellers, crises, and failures. Effective leaders surround themselves with people who speak candidly, even when it’s uncomfortable. They look for lessons in every win and loss.
They learn to do things differently. The best leaders work on habits that sharpen their thinking and relationships. They learn to listen, to ask better questions, and to think in patterns instead of fragments.
And they learn by doing. They take what they’ve learned and apply it. Exemplary leaders prepare deeply, take on difficult challenges, and simplify complexity so others can act. Learning only matters when it leads to change.
Patterns, Practice, and Wisdom
Charlie’s method did more than teach me about leadership. It built a habit of curiosity and accountability that has guided my entire career. To this day, I still read more than a hundred business books a year, a practice I started because of him. People often ask if the ideas become repetitive. I tell them yes, and that’s the best part. The repetition reveals the pattern. When you read thirty or forty leadership books and they all point to the same few principles, you begin to see the foundation beneath the noise. That’s when learning turns into wisdom.
The challenge for many leaders isn’t lack of information. It’s the lack of reflection and follow-through. We live in a world overflowing with podcasts, articles, and frameworks. What separates great leaders from the rest is that they take what they learn, turn it into a few key actions, and execute with consistency.
The Balance of Confidence and Humility
Novak calls this curiosity combined with courage. It takes humility to admit you still have a lot to learn and courage to apply what you discover. He also reminds us that real growth often comes from failure. Earlier in his career, when he was Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo, one of his biggest lessons came from launching Crystal Pepsi, a product that failed because he ignored early feedback. The experience taught him that conviction must always be balanced with listening. Every good idea has to be tested against reality.
There’s another layer to this that Novak captures beautifully. The best leaders pair confidence with humility. Confidence inspires others to follow. Humility keeps them learning. Both are essential. Charlie embodied that. He was brilliant but never arrogant. Charlie would challenge me relentlessly, but he was also generous with his time and wisdom. He taught me that leadership is a lifelong apprenticeship. You never graduate from learning how to lead well.
The Leaders Who Keep Learning
That’s why the leaders I admire most, people running associations, credit unions, and companies across industries, are the ones who keep learning. They attend conferences not just to check a box but to exchange ideas. They read widely, ask better questions, and surround themselves with people who will speak honestly when others might stay silent. Most know that staying curious is the only way to keep their leadership sharp and their organizations moving forward.
Learning only matters when it changes what you do next. Use that as your test. What did you learn today, and how will you use it tomorrow?
I recently built a new landing page highlighting my updated sessions, created with association leaders in mind, but filled with insights that apply to any organization or business.
These programs focus on the future of leadership, building strong cultures, and executing strategy with clarity and discipline. I was honored to share this material at the ASAE Conference, where I was also inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame.
