#MiPDV – You Need To Practice to Master New Skills
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#MiPDV – You Need To Practice to Master New Skills

We were having dinner with some friends, and the topic of conversation turned to music.?

One of the folks mentioned that they played piano when they were young, but never developed into a very good player.?

When asked why, they admitted that they didn’t practice much. Instead of daily practice, they waited to practice until the last minute, just before their lesson was to begin.?

They did the same for recitals – they would perform, but never practiced the recital piece until just before the event.?

Thinking back on that conversation, it is obvious that this person’s practice habits never gave them a chance of being a good pianist. It reminded me of an earlier edition of #MiPDV where we looked at not achieving results because you didn’t do the work.


Whether we like it or not, mastering a skill requires us to use the skill … that means, to practice it. Yet in business contexts we are often afraid to practice.?

Why??

In a 2016 blog post, author Jennifer Long wrote, “practicing can be difficult and painful when we’re used to having a high degree of competence”.


She follows up her comment with something that most of us can relate to:

“As leaders, we generally have the intellectual capacity to quickly grasp concepts and ideas, which can lead us to mistakenly believe we also know how to execute on them right away. The reality is that we don’t – not until we practice, get feedback, refine our approach, and practice again – for somewhere between 20 and 10,000 hours.”

?In other words, we need to set aside our egos and put in the work. While we are learning, we’re going to make more mistakes than we will when we master the skill. That’s just part of our learning curve.?

What’s the best way to practice??

There are many opinions. Long provides some excellent advice in her blog, especially points 5 and 6:

  • Acknowledge the challenge of learning something new
  • Limit the scope of what you’re trying to learn
  • Commit time (this is a challenge for many of us!)
  • Leverage tools and materials in the training program you’re using
  • Create practice partnerships
  • Consider coaching

Having an expert or accountability partner help you is an excellent way to develop your skills.


If you don’t want to use a coach or a practice partner, Shahram Heshmat provides alternative steps in a 2019 blog post for Psychology Today :

  • Set learning goals
  • Start small
  • Get feedback on mistakes
  • Stay focused
  • Use mental representations
  • Get out of your comfort zone
  • Mindset matters
  • Sustain motivation
  • Exploit the power of neuroplasticity

What really resonated with me is the explanation with “mindset matters” where he mentions how people often forgo learning a musical instrument later in life. A great example is someone who used to perform with our band … he learned to play saxophone in his 70’s and retired from the band at age 100!?

You can read the full post here:

As a leader, do you encourage your team members to practice while learning a new skill? How do you help them set aside their ego and put in the work??

I’d love to hear your secrets!?

?

That’s mi punto de vista #MiPDV.


James Griffin, CFP?, AAMS?, CRPC?, CRPS?

Your money matters. Let me help. | CFP? | Investments, Tax Strategies, Real Estate Investor, Life and Long-term Care Insurance | What’s in your toolbox?

4 个月

John Harrison, i’m sure you have many friends that fit into that same category regarding Piano.???? When I am trying to learn something, I consciously admit that I will be bad at it for a while. For example, when teaching people how to play Chess, I tell them to anticipate losing their first 100 games. Those first 100 games aren’t about winning; they’re about learning to see the board and how the pieces move.

Ramesh Babu Vellaichamy

Sr Global Strategic Sales / Business Development / Enablement Professional

4 个月

I agree! Learning not only enables us, it helps to refine further and furthermore!!!

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