Too often, we think about learning as a solitary activity or a passive one. We focus on receiving information, mastering conceptual material or building some new skill. Books, lectures, e-learning and, yes, even magazine articles reduce learning to a solo sport. Of course, you can learn things alone, but significant insights seem to grow out of interchanges with others.

Managers rarely engage in these peer-to-peer exchanges. Sadly, too often, managers consider their peers to be only competitors. Peers are competitors for promotions, for budgets, for talent and for the attention of those already in power. In the corporate world, viewed solely through this lens, a conversation about ideas with peers would be insane. One would risk sharing important information or exposing a personal weakness that could be exploited by opponents. So, many managers forgo their most promising source of insight and advancement.

And who has time for ideas at work? We're all too busy doing things to stop and think about them. Reflection is for retirement. Understanding is for sissies. Thinking is for ivory-tower academics. Even long sentences are seen as the enemy of profit. Activity breeds success.

But in fact, facilitating cooperation in activity and learning is part of the leader's job. Things are not black and white, and managers must balance competition with collaboration in order to be personally and collectively successful.

When it comes to insight, there are things that can be learned but can't be taught. Sometimes, the best thing a leader can do to develop subordinates is not to tell them what to believe, but to create an environment in which they can figure out what they believe for themselves.