I heard two quotes today that struck me as very interesting.

The first comes from James Mattis.

"If you haven't read hundreds of books, you're functionally illiterate."

The other comes from Mark Twain.

"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read."

In hearing these quotes, it reminded me of an article I wrote in April.

In it, I termed Social Media Degenerative Brain Disease, or SMDBD for short.

Essentially, I noticed something that scared me.

In an attempt to interact and learn from "Experts" online, I was met with silence.

Even with a 120-word limit (set by the author of a post), no one had the attention span to "Read" my 120-word Comment.

120 words was "Too Long" to Read.

That is only about 1/2 of a Double Spaced Typed Page.

It made me Realize there are Few Leaders Who Read.

A Leader with SMDBD who does not have the Attention Span to even read 1/2 of a Double-Spaced Typed Page is a Functionally Illiterate Leader.

This means that, as a Leader, you have No Advantage over someone who is Illiterate.

Of course, you can also be a Functionally Illiterate Leader by Choosing not to Read, Period, regardless of whether you have SMDBD.

Now, this is where Problems Occur for Leaders.

If you are a Functionally Illiterate Leader, what Quality of Information can you Obtain to Improve Your Leadership?

The answer is the Quality will be Incredibly Horrible.

You will encounter quite a number of Problems.

For one, in that short of content, you Will Not Know the "Type" of Leadership that is being Discussed.

As I discussed Yesterday, there are over 850 "Academic" Definitions of Leadership.

Many of those Definitions of Leadership, and the Tenets or Rules that govern them, Do Not Work Together!

So, you could read 850 pieces of Content, and Most of them Could Contradict Each Other!

This also doesn't include any "Non-Academic" Definitions of Leadership, of which no one knows how many exist.

I would not be surprised if there were over 10,000 definitions of Leadership, most with Contradictory Information.

Then, how many of those definitions come from Individuals who are not Masters or Sages of Leadership?

I would Estimate that 95%+ of Content at 120 Words or Less that you could Find comes from Sources that Do Not Represent Quality, Master-Level+ Information.

This means that, as a Functionally Illiterate Leader, the Quality of Content Available to You will only Lead You to Low-Quality Leadership Decisions.

If you are a Functionally Illiterate Leader, you are Doomed to Fail.

So, if you "Are" Functionally Illiterate, how do you Overcome It?

Well, according to Experts, you must read 10 "Well-Chosen" Books to Simply Understand the "Expert Consensus".

Now, there are also a lot of "Poorly-Written" Books that Exist, especially about Leadership, so you May need to Read 100+ Books to find the 10 "Well-Chosen" Books.

Or, you could find a Quality Source, like an Expert Leadership Coach, who could Guide you to the 10 Books that will Best Benefit You, based on your type of Leadership.

Though, even after Reading these 10 Books, it does Not mean that Your Understanding of Leadership is at an Expert Level.

It only means that you Understand the General Consensus.

As I explained in another Article, to become an Expert in a subject, simply "Understanding" the Consensus is Not Enough.

If you want to become an Expert Leader, then you must also Understand the Dissenting Opinions, or those who Disagree with the Current Expert Consensus but are Masters+ Themselves.

Due to the Wide Variety of Types of Leaders, this is Incredibly Important.

It Aids You both in Developing Your Leadership Style, as well as in Knowing How to Create New Leaders on your Teams and in your Organizations.

In all likelihood, "Your" form of Leadership will be different from others on your Team, and within your Organization.

Really though, if you want to "Truly" be an Expert Leader, you must Dive into the Research Papers about Leadership.

Books are a Great Place to Start, but the Gold is Hidden in the Research Papers.

But, most Importantly as a Leader, you Need Results to Prove You Understand Leadership at an Expert Level.

The Best Leaders can provide Results in Multiple Domains.

Their Employees will be Happy to Say Their Leaders are Great (without Coercion).

Customers will Report how Great their Experiences are.

With this, Suppliers will also Report their Great Experiences.

Then, there is always the Bottom Line that Leaders are Beholden to.

The Best Bottom Line Results occur in the Long Term, and those are what determine a Leader's Expertise.

Most of today's Leaders Completely Fail here by Focusing on Short-Term Gains, while Destroying Long-Term Potential.

If you as a Leader cannot Demonstrate Successful Results in these Domains, then you are Not an Expert Leader.

In all likelihood, based on the Trends of Today's World, if you Fail to get Results in these domains, you are a Functionally Illiterate Leader.

This also helps to Explain "Why" we have such a Leadership Deficit in the World, and why Burnout is Impacting 80% of Employees, with more on the Way.

Most Leaders Do Not have a high enough Quality of Information that is Required to Succeed.

They are Functionally Illiterate Leaders, and their Results Show It.

So, if you want to Succeed as a Leader, I suggest that you start Reading.

If you want to Turbo-Charge your Results, then get Help to get Better Information, More Quickly.

Are You A Functionally Illiterate Leader?

The Quality Of Your Information Determines The Quality Of Your Leadership

What will you write today?