As leaders, we are used to being good at what we do. Learning something new is hard, especially in the beginning when we are likely to struggle and make mistakes.

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell suggests that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in any field.

Perhaps more of a realist, Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA, writes that it takes about 20 hours of practice to “know nothing, be pretty good” — that’s 45 minutes every day for a month.

Whether you’re aiming for “pretty good” or “expert,” practice is essential. But the practice can be difficult and painful when we are used to having high competence.
Perhaps this is why most leaders resist the idea of ​​practice – the more senior the leader, the more reluctant they often are to practice something new.

Many leaders believe that intellectual understanding is enough, that they only need to read or talk about something to get it right. But we know that it is important to develop skills.

Swimming is my favorite analogy. Two of my teenage children are competitive swimmers, which means I’ve been volunteering in competitions for over a decade.

My volunteer role is to monitor competitions and ensure swimmers follow the legal stroke techniques.

I have practiced for hours lectures videos discussions

and observations – on what is proper legal techniques.

I can tell you exactly how the butterfly should look: the kick and the pull

how the arms should be in sync, and how the touch and twist should work. I know everything about butterflies.