Become high performer using deliberate practice

Talented people sparkle like diamonds in the water. In Romania, the official search for talented people started in 2008. It’s when the crisis stroke and the training budgets severely dropped, raising the need for skilled employees. But does the concept of talented people have anything to do with talent?

Most people believe that being successful in your field is similar to inborn talent. Did you read Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell? What he says there is simple. You cannot be a jack of all trades, but you can be expert in your own field. All you need is to spend only 10.000 hours practicing.

What I want to emphasize is that it isn’t about native talent, as Gladwell insists, just intense practice and perseverance. Geoff Colvin, another American author passionate about where talent comes from, wrote Talent is overrated. He proves his statement with examples of famous talented people who succeeded through hard work – what he calls deliberate practice.

MOZART AND WOODS

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart succeeded early in his life also because he received support from his father, Leopold, who was a composer, conductor, teacher and violinist. Leopold was also known as a tyrannical and possessive man. Wolfgang started playing the piano at age 3. Biographers revealed that most of Mozart’s childhood pieces were not actually created by him, but compiled under the guidance of his father. His genuine and famous works came to light only after age 21. He needed 15 years of practice before applause.

It’s the same with Tiger Woods, the renowned American golf player, who’s been instructed by his father since childhood. I won’t go further with the stories. Just read Calvin’s book for more info. What I want to emphasize is that those people might have been talented, but no one could tell. What is for sure is that they both had their parents working in the same fields and they strived for years and years before actually getting on top.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

So do you want to be better? Plan some time to practice. Do you want to succeed? Practice even more. No matter the field, your dream needs sacrificing your time, perseverance and exercise – which is not always a satisfying way of living.

Meanwhile, we are living in a moment when the services are developing and there is a huge wave of people wishing to grow. But I believe that most professionals did not grow their value high enough. Each year I hear about a new coaching school opening in Romania, and the number of graduates increased. But I don’t feel that the quality of coaching services rose. Also, most practitioners still struggle to make it on their own.

I believe that most people don’t dedicate enough time to practicing. They’re thinking about signing contracts and being paid, rather than having the patience and willpower to polish their knowledge and experience.

SUMMER SCHOOL

Last year we built the Summer School with the idea of practice in mind. We started with Lisa Bloom, story coach. The role of stories in our life is to create context in order to have meaningful relationships with people around us. In development services, storytelling helps defining and understanding the personal history. It also helps you to connect with your client and sense the changes in his approach.

Then we worked on specific examples of ways to simplify and understand one’s own sales process (that’s me below, in a checked shirt, talking). Looking towards opportunity and possibility and not towards problem will help you position yourself and determine your client to enter the process.

We went even further with visual thinking and systemic practices, pushing the button on abilities. And we closed with individual conversations and personal commitments that we will hopefully be checking on this summer.

2012

This year the SUMMER SCHOOL will take place in June and it will be a special space for learning and practicing. The topics approached will be linked to your actual situation and needs. The SUMMER SCHOOL will be a creation lab: join and get exposed to a bunch of experiences that will accelerate your development.

More info next Tuesday, May 8. Tune in for some deliberate practice.