Experts say that successful individuals have a unique approach to reading books for personal development

uccessful leaders understand the value of continuous self-development and often use reading as a means to achieve this. According to Northwestern management professor Brooke Vukovic, successful leaders read differently than most people and deliberately scan every page for hidden lessons and leadership solutions. In her MBA class on ethical leadership, Vukovic has her students read and analyze novels and short stories to determine how power and empathy manifest in the workplace. By asking the right questions when starting a new book, and making connections to their own experiences, readers can develop important leadership skills such as interpersonal awareness and empathy. These skills have been shown to make workplaces more welcoming and thriving. In addition, by identifying conflicts in the story and thinking about how to advise the characters to solve the problem, readers can practice analyzing and solving problems in a way that is not bogged down by real-life details. Furthermore, by creating parallels between the conflicts in the novel and those in their own lives, readers can approach familiar problems from new perspectives and “think creatively and differently” as Vukovic suggests. Through this approach, the books on one’s bookshelf can become a valuable source of leadership advice.