The internet has revolutionized the ways that we acquire knowledge about nearly everything. The reality is today’s workforce is smarter and has the ability to get more information at a moment’s notice. Whether it’s learning about the vagaries of the Jetsons or reading the Wikipedia page about San Francisco (if, say, you’re planning a trip there) the internet provides knowledge with a click of a mouse.
The same holds true for leadership.
To be a leader, one can’t discount the advantage provided by experience. Whereas in the past it would take going to a college site or spending time in a library, now you can spend your time in front of the computer or the tablet at your house while enhancing your knowledge base. Leadership is one of those qualities that’s greatly in demand in today’s marketplace. For the job seeker, being able to talk about leadership and use the buzzwords reflects positively when interviewing within your company for a better position or for a new opportunity.
Here are three great online resources to build your leadership knowledge base:
- eBooks. These are fantastic resources because the authors are generally in the field and take the content and boil it down to its most important points. eBooks are also not as long as traditional books, so there’s a great sense of accomplishment when completing them. There are many free eBooks in every corner of the internet. Check them out!
- Forums. These are also free resources. Forums provide a great chance not only to network but to learn best practices. Regardless of how you stumble upon the forum, you’ll quickly learn who the best contributors are and build relationships with them. Many forum posters love to share successes, and you can easily incorporate their ideas into your actions.
- Courses. The best part about online courses is that you can go through them at your own pace. Unlike college seminars where you have to show up at a certain time and take part in certain activities, these courses are at your leisure and because you set the pace you’ll end up retaining more of the content.
Leadership is not something that you have to worry about getting practical experience. Use the internet and various online resources to build your knowledge base. You’ll end up talking the talk and soon applying these concepts will be second nature.
