Expertise Training

Leadership is a skill that has endless levels of expertise. Leadership experts do a great job of describing the various theories and types of leaders, but few provide methods to practice the skills they are teaching. Providing effective ways to practice these skills is what makes any training a success, something typically left out of most leadership talks.

As a mental performance consultant, increasing the pace of improvement for my athletes was the most significant service I provided. Having taught math for almost a decade before becoming a doctor of performance psychology, I was always interested in becoming better at teaching skills to people.

Professional sports careers are generally short. They can be lengthened if an athlete can stay consistently better than their opponents. Another limiting factor for most athletes is the length of time they can physically practice. I knew if I could increase the pace of learning for my fighters, I would have a chance at getting them longer careers with more success.

As I studied skill acquisition and the cognitive aspects of performance, I began to find a number of ways to help athletes make greater improvements with the same amount of work. What I found to be the most successful was using mental imagery to complete mental repetitions of a skill in between physical repetitions. I taught my fighters how to use this effectively as well as held them accountable to do the work.

To use mental imagery yourself, try these tips:

1. Physically rehearse the actual action you are trying to learn. It could be done with another person or just acted out alone. Pay close attention to the physical feelings, the sights, the sounds, and any other sensations you can notice.
2. Determine what an ideal repetition would look like. If there are movements, imagine the speed and fluidity. If there are words spoken or thoughts in your mind, think about the content, tone, and intention of those. How does your vision change in an ideal situation and what sounds would you hear are also considerations.
3. Once you understand what all will go into an ideal repetition, try to imagine yourself completing one ideally. Give yourself a few moments to get a couple of quality mental repetitions in.
4. Try the physical repetition again and compare it to your mental rep. If your mental rep is still ideal, take another mental and physical rep. Repeat this at least 10 times. Mental imagery only enhances skill development, it does not create it without physical practice.

If you are in charge of the training or development of your group, I would like to talk to you. I would like to learn about the management and leadership training currently available to your team and to hear your leadership development story!