Meaning
John F. Kennedy’s quote, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other,” means that if you stop learning, your leadership deteriorates. The world changes, your assumptions go stale, and your decisions get riskier.
How to apply it in practice:
- Block weekly “learning time” like a meeting (reading, courses, customer calls).
- Run after-action reviews: “What did we expect? What happened? What did we learn?”
- Invite dissent: assign a rotating “devil’s advocate” role.
- Teach what you learn—nothing cements learning like explaining it to others.
Source
APA source: Kennedy, J. F. (1963, November 22). Remarks prepared for delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas, Texas. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.