The interconnectedness between leadership and learning: a reaffirmation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reemphasize the essence of upgrading students' learning mentality in higher education as much as possible, in order to enable excellence in workplace performance later. Design/methodology/approach – The subject scope of this paper is: learning as a vehicle toward excellence. Methods used in the paper are: literature review and student performance evaluations. Its approach to the topic is: a review of the basic component for excellence in learning; connecting learning mentalities with workplace behaviors; evaluation of behaviors of great learners and leaders; and presents a model. Findings – The paper finds that learning and leadership have a mutuality effect on one another. Behaviors in attitudes toward learning are important indicators of behaviors in workplace performance. Research limitations/implications – Although concisely reviewed, this paper does not specifically focus on unfortunate learning outcomes for students, resulting from poor teaching methods, learning disabilities, cultural and environmental drawbacks, or other circumstantial imbalances. The main focus of this paper is rather on attitudes toward learning, which oftentimes convert into workplace behaviors. Practical implications – For students the practical implications of this paper are: examining their learning behavior and adopt a more constructive one where possible and necessary. For course facilitators and academic advisors they are: scrutinizing problem students' performance more intensely, confronting these students with the need to adjust, and, where possible, providing them the support mechanisms to do so. For members of the corporate world they are: if still obtaining education or on‐the‐job training – examining their learning behaviors, and thus their chances on future success; and if in managerial positions: learning to recognize certain traits early on in job applicants. Originality/value – New in this paper is: the clear link between learning and leading; five behaviors of great learners and leaders; and a model that displays the effects of attitudes toward learning.