While professional reading is not the single and utmost important factor in developing and maintaining leadership skills, I do believe that it is an important task, and enables leaders to be lifelong learners. Maintaining a mindset of “how can I learn and improve myself as an intellectual and general human being”, is, in my opinion, characteristic of a quality leader, be it in either the civilian or military sector. With that being said, just because you are a well-read leader, does not make you a subject matter expert. Just because you read the Ranger Hand Book, doesn’t mean you’re ready to lead a platoon of Rangers. I believe that being a well-read leader enables you to detach from a situation and mentally reference literature you may have digested to allow you to make a good decision. For instance, General George Patton was a fanatical reader of military history. Famously, he defeated Field Marshall Erwin Rommel in Tunisia in the battle of El Guettar after anticipating Rommel’s avenue of approach and his preferred tactics, all of which Patton had read of in Rommel’s publication, Infantry Maneuvers.  While it was not solely Patton’s reading of Infantry Maneuvers that afforded him victory in Tunisia, it certainly aided in his efforts to defeat Rommel and bring victory in North Africa. In short,

In short, professional reading coupled with applicable experiences enables leaders to detach and make more informed decisions in their personal lives, as well as in their military lives.

Personally, I find it hard to carve out time for professional reading. I try to fit in 1-2 hours on the weekends, and frequently hop from book to book as my interests shift. Currently, I am reading a book called The Guerrilla Factory, a personal narrative on Special Forces Selection and expectations and experiences of Special Forces Officers. It was a suggestion from my cousin who was just recently awarded his Green Beret. I’m also currently working on E.B. Sledge’s book “With The Old Breed”, which, ironically enough, was a required reading for a previous course that I fizzled out on and recently picked back up.

With that being said, I do think having a book be assigned to you puts a sort of mental stigma towards it. You already think it will be boorish and irritating to read based soley on the fact that someone is TELLING you to read it. This may touch back on what CPT Rainey mentioned earlier, on how assigned readings may feel like more of a drag to read than literature you have voluntarily chosen.

Personally, one of my new favorite ways to gain knowledge on new subjects is to watch YouTube Videos. Recently, I’ve been into videos from Jocko Willik (http://jockopodcast.com/), he is a former Navy SEAL task unit commander and a personal hero of mine. Check him out if you get the chance, he offers excellent leadership advice and frequently does book reviews of books centered around the military. He also hosts interesting guests to his Podcasts who prove to be excellent sources of knowledge in many fields.

-CDT Rooney