Sydney Finkelstein, author of this Harvard Business Review article, has spent more than 10 years studying world-class leaders, and he found that the ones who made the most lasting, positive impact on their employees were great teachers, through and through. They didn’t wait for formal reviews or structured career path meetings to impart their knowledge or share advice. Instead, “They routinely spent time in the trenches with employees, passing on technical skills, general tactics, business principles, and life lessons. Their teaching was informal and organic, flowing out of the tasks at hand. And it had an unmistakable impact: Their teams and organizations were some of the highest-performing in their sectors,” writes Finkelstein. In this article, he outlines lessons for all leaders based on his observations of these great teachers – including what to teach, when to teach, and how to make lessons stick. 

In a world of social media and 24/7 news coverage, finding a quiet moment to think is becoming all too rare. But it’s important, say authors Justin Talbot-Zorn and Leigh Marz in this Harvard Business Review article. ”Recent studies are showing that taking time for silence restores the nervous system, helps sustain energy, and conditions our minds to be more adaptive and responsive to the complex environments in which so many of us now live, work, and lead,” they write. Even busy people can and should make the time for periods of sustained quiet in their schedules, they argue. Download this article to learn Talbot-Zorn and Marz’s four practical ideas for cultivating quiet time.

John Kotter, organizational change guru and author of "Leading Change" and "A Sense of Urgency," shares five tips to help leaders infuse a sense of urgency within teams. Get our fast start guide (.PDF): 

Continuous learning is often a required job skill in IT, as technology is changing all the time. Calling yourself a lifelong learner and actually practicing it are two different things, however. In this Harvard Business Review article, Mike Kehoe points out that as high as 80 percent of people who sign up for online classes drop out before the course is completed. If you are serious about expanding your skill set, Kehoe says there are four habits to adopt to become a more effective learner. He dives deep into each of these habits, why they work, and how you can incorporate them into your learning practice. By doing so, Kehoe says you can make learning a priority and part of your normal routine.