For a long time, the gurus and popular science literature have told us that the best way to master anything is by engaging in deliberate practice. Unfortunately, as I explain in The Myth of Deliberate Practice and Mastery, it’s not that straightforward. As I summarise below, deliberate practice works well in ‘kind’ learning environments but isn’t particularly effective in ‘wicked’ learning environments.

Now I want to double down on the usefulness of deliberate practice specifically as it relates to business and leadership. Can deliberate practice help you master these disciplines? It turns out that whilst it can be very helpful in the earlier stages of your leadership journey, it becomes less helpful as you advance in your executive career. That’s because of the ‘wicked’ nature and complexity of the learning environments that senior leaders operate in.

Perhaps the self-improvement literature’s biggest act of mis-selling is telling us that if we want to improve at anything then we need to undertake deliberate practice. According to one guru “regardless of where we choose to apply ourselves, deliberate practice can help us maximize our potential”. It sounds enticing, but it’s incorrect. Deliberate practice won’t necessarily help you achieve mastery regardless of where you choose to apply yourself.

Work hard at something over time and you’ll get better, right? Yes, but time on the job alone gives you no guarantee of mastery. And what if time isn’t on your side. What if you want to get better, faster? This is the challenge that the CEOs and executives that I work with face. As their business and role grows, their development can struggle to keep up with the rate of change, putting their position and entire businesses at risk.

Whether your an entrepreneur, executive, investor or other professional striving to be the very best at what you do, how can you accelerate your journey towards mastery? As an executive coach, how can I work with someone who already has a solid level of business experience and help them speed up their journey? This is what my Series Accelerating Executive Mastery >> sets out to explore.

But first, let’s dig deeper into the theory of mental models and mastery.