Rowley Associates

“When I don’t practice for a day, I know. When I don’t practice for two days, the orchestra knows. And when I don’t practice for three days, the world knows it”. Violinist Jascha Heifetz

In his recent book ‘Outliers’ author Malcolm Gladwell proposes that to become an expert requires more than good genes, it requires, on average about 10,000 hours of practice. From rock stars to sport stars, top scientists and business change-makers, success is more than ‘choosing your parents wisely’, its about opportunity, experience and, most of all its about persistence. So whilst it’s absolutely true that nature loads the gun, nurture always pulls the trigger. But Gladwell and others are not the only ones to have identified the critical role of practice or intensive training routines.

By the time many executives have reached leadership positions they have taken advantage of opportunities, made the most of their experiences and honed their expertise by taking part in MBA’s, training courses or other educational opportunities. But what are executives doing to hone their skills once they have made-the-grade. Success is relative – promotions are one indication of a person’s achievement, so too hitting your numbers or consistently adding value to the bottom line. All indicate significant accomplishments but how do executives in leadership positions maintain their success? What kinds of ‘practice’ do our leaders engage in to keep moving forward? Top athletes and musicians train or practice daily, many scientists pore over scientific papers to expand and extend their knowledge. Few top performers sit on their laurels, happy in the knowledge that they have made it and need no further development.

One way to ‘practice’ your leadership skills is to engage a coach or leadership therapist, another is to create and adhere to a development plan. Both provide a leader with a way to ‘train’. The objective of the practice will differ depending on the skill to be developed or the problem to be solved. Emotional problems such as chronic anxiety, fear of failure or issues of power and presence are best worked through with the help of a coach. Others, like honing your presentation or public speaking skills, or developing a deeper understanding of a business process can be achieved with a well thought out plan, and by enlisting the expertise of those you work with. Whatever the subject it’s the practice that creates expertise, but practice needs focus, it needs persistence and it needs heart. The classical guitarist Glenn Kurtz comments, “Whether as a musician, as an athlete, at your job, or in love, practice gives direction to your longing, gives substance to your labor. Every day you go to the gym or sit down at your desk. The work is not always interesting, not always fun. Sometimes it is tedious. Sometimes it is infuriating. Why do you continue? Why did you start in the first place? You must have an answer that helps you persevere”. Kurzt’s comment gets to the heart of what any leader or executive needs to consider as he or she practices – what are you trying to achieve, what does success look like. When I work with clients they all must pass the ‘fitness’ test – they must want to improve, to do what it takes to maintain their success or to tackle their self-defeating behavior. The plan then has to fulfill the following:

It has to be focused at the root cause of a particular problem or issue.
Too many development plans focus on the symptom not the cause of a problem. Sometimes it takes courage to admit “I’m really not very good at this”. It’s your time so invest it wisely.

It has to be time limited.
Much can be accomplished in a short space of time. I see no point in extending the practice ad infinitum. I do believe you are either moving forward or slipping back. Set a drop-dead date when you will achieve your goal or objective

It clearly defines what success looks like.
If you don’t begin with the end in mind you will continue to find yourself back at the start

It must link to business goals or objectives.
Practice shouldn’t exist in a vacuum, it must link to a particular business goal or commitment. This way you can practice on the job and impact key business metrics.

It should include opportunities to learn from experts.
You are probably surrounded by experts in the very behavior or expertise you are trying to improve. Seek them out, talk to them, watch them in action or shadow them for half-a-day

It can include other educational experiences.
Training courses are helpful but so too are other experiences that extend your emotional repertoire or enhance your thinking. These might include travel, joining a book group, parachute jumping or having a difficult conversation with a close-friend or family-member.

An example of the development blueprint I use with my clients can be found here. Try it out and let me know what you find out about yourself.