“Elite performers engage in ‘deliberate practice’ – an effortful activity designed to improve target performance.”
– K. Anders Ericsson, Conradi Eminent Scholar / Professor of Psychology, Florida State University
And, Ericsson teaches us, it’s only when you’re alone that you can engage in deliberate practice.
Susan Cain, in her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking, sites Dr. Ericsson’s work as she systematically picks apart Groupthink and it’s negative influence on our work and our lives.
NOTE: This is not a two-day diatribe against collaboration. It is, however, a two-day diatribe against forced and repetitive “collaboration” at the expense of improvement and getting things done – at the expense of making a difference. (There. I feel better. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest…)
Are we getting enough alone time to deliberately practice the skills that will set us apart. To rehearse the difference-making “performances” we’ll be called upon to engage in? Are we spending time in meetings at the expense of getting deep on a topic? Are we putting so many cooks in the kitchen that we forget which meal it was we’re trying to prepare?
Deliberate practice. One key to making a difference. Groupthink might be its enemy. It pays to know how we’re prioritizing the two.
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