Gleaning the Fields of LinkedIn

In the Old Testament, there was a practice known as gleaning. Landowners were commanded not to harvest to the very edges of their fields. If grain fell during harvest, they weren’t to pick it up. Why would someone “waste” something so valuable when food was scarce?

Because God built generosity into the system. The leftovers created a safety net for widows, orphans, and foreigners—people without access to resources. They were free to gather what remained.

The most well-known example appears in the book of Ruth. Ruth, a foreign widow, gleaned in the fields of a man named Boaz. When Boaz noticed her, he instructed his workers to leave extra grain behind on purpose. That simple act of generosity changed her life. Eventually, Ruth and Boaz married, and one of their descendants was King David.

All because someone chose to leave something in the field.

LinkedIn is the Field

That image makes me think of LinkedIn. In many ways, LinkedIn is a modern-day field where professionals can glean.

There is an extraordinary amount of free, high-quality content available every single day—insights from researchers, practitioners, executives, entrepreneurs, and trainers. For someone who can’t attend conferences or whose company doesn’t invest heavily in training, LinkedIn offers access to learning that would have been unimaginable a generation ago.

I’ll use myself as an example. I’ve been blogging weekly for nearly 19 years. In addition, I post daily on LinkedIn. That’s thousands of pieces of content designed to help people understand and apply the science of ethical influence.

And I’m far from alone. You can glean—at no cost—wisdom about sales, leadership, communication, negotiation, productivity, mindset, and more.

Here’s the Key

But here’s the key: you still have to show up and gather it. In the Old Testament, the grain didn’t walk itself into Ruth’s home. She had to enter the field and do the work. The same is true here.

Reading a post takes intention. Reflecting on it takes more. Applying it takes effort. For example, reading one of Dr. Robert Cialdini’s books—or one of mine—will give you depth in the science of influence. But insight alone doesn’t create results. The real question is always: How do I put this into practice?

Translation matters.

Dr. Cialdini is a social scientist. His life’s work is rooted in research methodology and behavioral study. My career, on the other hand, has been spent in business—particularly in the property-casualty insurance industry—translating that fascinating research into practical application.

Whether you’re in sales, leadership, or simply trying to get people to respond to your emails, success often comes down to one thing: hearing a series of “yes” responses.

Sales is never a single yes. It’s prospecting, conversations, commitment, follow-through, and referrals.

Leadership isn’t a single yes either. Leaders must:

• Build relationships by engaging Liking, Unity, and Reciprocity.
• Reduce uncertainty through Authority and Social Proof.
• Motivate action using Scarcity and Consistency approaches.

Even if you’re not in sales or formal leadership, your professional success still depends largely on your ability to gain agreement and inspire action. Consider this:

• If more people responded to your emails, would your job be easier?
• If your ideas gained traction faster, would that accelerate your career?

Most of us answer “yes” to those questions.

Some Encouragement

Here’s my encouragement: Glean. Be intentional about what you consume on LinkedIn based on how you want to grow your skills. Save posts. Reflect on them. Apply one idea per week. The free content is there—but like Ruth, you have to gather it.

At the same time, recognize something else. Gleaning provided sustenance—but ownership required more. If you want deeper mastery, faster growth, and more structured development, there are additional paths: books, online learning, workshops, coaching, certification programs.

Free content can spark insight. Focused training builds skill. Both have their place.

The real question is this: Are you walking past a field filled with opportunity—or are you stepping in and gathering what’s available?

Let others learn from you by answering this question: What’s one piece of insight you’ve gleaned on LinkedIn that made a meaningful difference in your work?

Edited by ChatGPT

Brian Ahearn

Brian Ahearn is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence PEOPLE and a faculty member at the Cialdini Institute. An author, TEDx presenter, international speaker, coach, and consultant, Brian helps clients apply influence in everyday situations to boost results.

As one of only a dozen Cialdini Method Certified Trainers in the world, Brian was personally trained and endorsed by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., the most cited living social psychologist on the science of ethical influence.

Brian’s first book, Influence PEOPLE, was named one of the 100 Best Influence Books of All Time by Book Authority. Persuasive Selling and Influenced from Above were Amazon new release bestsellers. His LinkedIn courses on persuasive selling and coaching have been viewed by over 850,000 people around the world and his TEDx Talk on pre-suasion has more than a million views!