Sometime last year it went quietly cathunk.
Client sessions were flowing, and fascinating. When we hit a danger point, I was deep into not knowing the answers. Sessions left me bone-tired and energized. It took me a few months to notice! I tried to figure out what had happened – who wouldn’t want to be able to replicate that? Then it came to me. I did a bit of back-of-napkin calculating.
Malcolm Gladwell famously said that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to truly master a skill. Whether that is the real number, and how to define practice, is hotly debated among expertise scientists (nerd out here) but it gave me a starting point to clarify my experience. Sometime last year I crossed the 10,000-hour mark. 10,000 hours of being in front of leadership teams of SMBs as a consultant, coach, facilitator, teacher, head-banger. I had crossed from journeyman to master of my craft. Like any true master I am deeply aware of how much I still need to learn, hone, refine. I am also aware of how many skills I have, of how they fit together, of the nuances I have at my finger tips and the care and immediacy with which I can apply them. This newfound confidence breeds more confidence, and a sure skill with the scalpel or the balm. It is extraordinarily fun!
My craft is implementing a system that brings members of leadership teams to mastery.
My clients’ craft is leading and managing their teams to bring them to mastery.
Inherent in all this is our ongoing journey to mastery. Pick a leadership skill today to practice, to drill yourself on the way you would run laps to prepare for a game. Notice how well you lead a meeting, then do a post-game analysis. What went well? What could you have done better?
This is the path to mastery, and the path of the master. Have fun with it, and your work will be infused with the joy of learning from experiences that could otherwise be perceived as overwhelming problems.
If you need help mastering your craft, Contact me for a complimentary 90 Minute introduction!
