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The best leaders never stop learning. In this episode of 5 Minutes with Andy, Andy shares why leadership learning isn’t limited to books or formal courses—it’s about finding lessons everywhere you go. Whether it’s a concert, a TV show, or a retail store aisle, there’s always something new to learn if you’re paying attention.

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Andy Covers:

• Why a leadership learning mindset is essential—and how to cultivate it.
• How staying open to new ideas helps you—and your organization—grow.
• Where Andy finds inspiration for leadership and growth.

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Like what you hear? Follow 5 Minutes with Andy for more leadership insights!

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Hello, and welcome to Five Minutes with Andy. My name is Andy Freed. I'm the CEO of Virtual, Incorporated. For 25 years, we've been helping membership organizations that are forming, growing and changing as they're seeking to make their mark on the world. So today, I'm not just talking about those 25 years, but something that happened 35 years ago. It's 35 years since I got out of college.

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So, how come my 35th reunion, 35 years and twice as many pounds ago since I got out of college, is kind of shocking to me. But I haven't been in a classroom in 35 years. But that doesn't mean I've stopped learning. And the reality is, that it's never been easier to learn than it is today. And there have never been more sources.

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And there are. And one of the things that I'm often asked is how do you stay current? How do you figure out what's going on out there? A real belief that there are lessons to be learned almost everywhere you go in life. Certainly, there are great books out there, and I'm one of those folks that always has a leadership book going.

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I'm always looking at different books, and there's authors that I love, and I love Tom Peters and stuff. I love so many different authors that talk about leadership, but it's deeper than that. There are so many other places you can go. You know, for me, the next piece is your other videos. And I like video sources too, that I like all the time.

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Masterclass. Phenomenal content on there. Coach K from Duke talking about leadership. He does a phenomenal job of relating how he what he does on the basketball court. Treat you as he works with some of the biggest stars of our time, folks like Kobe Bryant. How that can apply to any office that you're in, and how the folks that are around you can respond to some of the same techniques.

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TED Talks, of course, are one of the most ubiquitous and known of leadership sources that are out there. But it goes deeper than that. There are so many other places in pop culture, so many other places that you can learn if you're open to it. Ted Lasso was, of course, one of the best shows I've ever seen on leadership.

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It wasn't just about soccer. It wasn't just about humor. It was understanding. What did he do as a leader? You can take lessons away from that. I've learned so much about publics peaking, from watching movies, from watching TV, from watching the way Aaron Sorkin writes dialogue on The West Wing, from watching and taking away that and thinking about how do you communicate?

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Why are those folks connecting with the way that others aren’t? And you can learn things from other places that you go. I write and talk a lot about my affection for Bruce Springsteen. Well, it's not just that I love his music, but I love so much of what you can learn about him. Learn about communications from him.

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I like watching the way he sets up, sets up a concert, thinks about within that concert. What's the audience going to think, feel and do? But I also love at the end of every show when he shakes the hand of every single band member and as one of them says, “for 10 seconds every night, he makes me feel like the most important musician in the world.”

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That's a lesson, and that's one that I take away from every show. And I look at, I think, how can I do that myself as a leader? That means that I'm learning at a Springsteen show. I'm learning when I'm watching TV. I'm learning when reading books. I can learn things also, at times, even from just walking around, walking the aisles of a Best Buy will suddenly teach me about what's new in technology.

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Sometimes walking in the aisles of a CVS can show you trends in health care. You can learn things all around if you're open to it. You know, the key for any leader is to be committed to you're never going to stop learning, and you're never going to stop trying to make sure that you're a little bit better than you were the day before.

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Learning never stops. And you're a leader. That's why I appreciate you spending five minutes with me today. And I hope you'll keep doing it.

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If you enjoyed this podcast, make sure you like it. Make sure you subscribe, and we hope to see you again. Thanks so much.

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