Information for 
Empowering Effective Leaders
by Carri Baker
In my life, I have known many excellent leaders, and they all have one thing in common: they read. Most of them read voraciously. Elementary teachers often say, “Readers become leaders,” and you’ve probably also heard, “Leaders are readers.” There’s truth in both phrases. Yet, since we all become leaders in one capacity or another, perhaps the better saying is readers become better leaders. More accurately, reading makes us more well-rounded humans, but that doesn’t rhyme.
History and research both show a strong correlation between consistent reading and effective leadership. Reading helps us cultivate wisdom, but it also deepens our ability to communicate, make decisions, and think critically. Reading becomes an answer to many of the challenges we face. Want to grow in your relationship with God? Read. Need new strategies for teaching or leading an organization? Read. Want to learn a new skill? Read.
What You Read Shapes How You Lead
As a former elementary school librarian, I once taught a lesson on billionaires and their reading habits. A student raised his hand and said, “You read more than anyone I know, Mrs. Baker. Why are you not at least a millionaire?” Well… it turns out Elon Musk and I read very different books.
In all seriousness, what we know is that highly successful leaders don’t just read — they read to learn. That crucial detail is often missing from the “readers are leaders” catchphrase. What we read matters because reading is formative. It changes us. It shapes not only what we think but also how we think. Reading opens doors to new ideas and new cultures, sharpening the skills most often associated with strong leadership.
Highly effective leaders are also masters at applying what they learn. They sift through ideas, separate the good from the bad and take action to improve. Sometimes those risks pay off, and sometimes they don’t, but action is still taken. Strong leaders recognize they don’t know everything and remain in constant pursuit of knowledge that can improve their workplaces and organizations.
Read Widely, Well and at the Right Time
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “A book must be interesting to the particular reader at that particular time.” The most meaningful books are often the ones we read at just the right moment. So let your to-be-read mountain grow and pull from it when the time is right.
Every genre has the potential to shape leadership. Reading widely strengthens critical thinking, self-awareness and empathy. Fiction allows us to experience the world through a different lens. Biographies teach us through the successes and failures of others. Fantasy helps us see problems from new perspectives. Some of the best leadership lessons come from books that were never labeled as “leadership” books at all.
I once complained to a friend about a book I was reading for a class. I disliked the author’s wording and found myself rolling my eyes throughout. My friend was shocked. She had read the same book three times … for fun. Books are never one-size-fits-all. Often, they’re trial and error. There are too many good books to read a bad one. As Mark Twain famously said, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” If a book doesn’t serve your purpose, shelve it for now and try opening up a new one.
Leadership rarely begins with a title. More often, it begins with a habit, and few habits are as accessible or as powerful as reading. Every book we open has the potential to shape how we think, how we see others and how we lead in the spaces entrusted to us. So read with curiosity. Read with discernment. Read with courage to apply what you learn. And when the time is right, read simply for joy. Because while readers may become leaders, those who read well become better ones, one page at a time.