LSW #16 What it really takes, and the elements of deliberate practice
The mundanity of excellence
Greatness as Mastering the Mundane is a new long-form article I wrote but also an important framework to understand. It's based on a seminal study —The Mundanity of Excellence — by Daniel Chambliss.
A common pattern I find with clients is a disconnect between what they set out to do and their understanding of what it's going to take to actually get there.
A big part of my early engagement is to set clear expectations and making sure the client understands what it takes. Why bother?
Because otherwise, they have very little chance of succeeding. When reality hits, they will not be ready. This means abandoning projects prematurely. Often our entire lives are a series of abandoned projects.
So how do we avoid this unfortunate situation? That's one of the key questions I have tried to answer in the article.
Sometimes unknowingly, we have glamorous takes on what we’ve set out to do. But we are not prepared for the day to day grind of what it takes to get there. Our usual way of explaining away the disparity is a lack of talent or discipline. But this is only partially true and a lost opportunity.
Often it’s because we don't have a clear understanding of what it takes. Figuring that out is half the battle and sets us up for success.
Below are some of the key ideas I cover:
Myths about excellence and what it actually takes.
Doing mundane things long enough is the biggest challenge.
Outcomes are glamorous whereas practice is not.
Excellence and motivation are in fact mundane.
Quantitative versus qualitative improvements.
Top performers as different rather than better.
The stockdale paradox.
Applying the ideas it to your career
I also have two movie snippets in the references section that you might find funny and insightful. But you have to read the article to understand the context. 😉
Reflection Questions
Do you have a clear idea of what it takes to get to your desired goal?
Are your systems set to track inputs and outputs? Or do they track outcomes?
Do you have support systems in place that reduce the required level of motivation?
Do you clearly differentiate between skill and talent?
You will find clarifications on these questions in the article.
Key elements of deliberate practice
The key elements of deliberate practice used by experts and top performers:
It develops skills that other people have already figured out how to do and for which effective training techniques have been established. The practice regimen should be designed and overseen by a teacher or coach who is familiar with the abilities of expert performers and with how those abilities can best be developed.
It takes place outside one’s comfort zone and requires a student to constantly try things that are just beyond his or her current abilities. Thus it demands near-maximal effort, which is generally not enjoyable.
It involves well-defined, specific goals and often involves improving some aspect of the target performance; it is not aimed at some vague overall improvement. Once an overall goal has been set, a teacher or coach will develop a plan for making a series of small changes that will add up to the desired larger change.
It is deliberate, that is, it requires a person’s full attention and conscious actions. It isn’t enough to simply follow a teacher’s or coach’s directions. The student must concentrate on the specific goal for his or her practice activity so that adjustments can be made to control practice.
It involves feedback and modification of efforts in response to that feedback. Early in the training process much of the feedback will come from the teacher or coach. With time and experience students must learn to monitor themselves, spot mistakes, and adjust accordingly.
It both produces and depends on effective mental representations.... Mental representations make it possible to monitor how one is doing, both in practice and in actual performance. They show the right way to do something and allow one to notice when doing something wrong and to correct it.
It nearly always involves building or modifying previously acquired skills by focusing on particular aspects of those skills and working to improve them specifically; over time this step-by-step improvement will eventually lead to expert performance.
- Anders Ericcson in Peak
Leader’s Library
The above snippet was taken from Anders Ericcson's magnum opus Peak:Secrets from the New Science of Expertise. He was the leading researcher in the field of expertise and peak performance. You've probably heard about the 10,000 hour rule that Malcolm Gladwell made famous in Outliers — it was based on Ericsson's research.
The book is a layperson's version of Ericcson's research into expert performance that spans over 30 years. Many of the ideas have found their way into common parlance but it's good to read it from the source. He also clarifies many of the common misunderstandings about the 10,000 hour rule.
That's it for this edition. Have a great week!
– Sheril Mathews