The Power of Practice

When Michael Jordan was at his peak, he stepped away from basketball to give baseball a try. Baseball was his original sport in high school but switched over to basketball in his junior year. After winning three consecutive NBA titles, he decided he wanted to give baseball a try.

He spent one year as a AA baseball player. He was not inspiring. The next year, he returned to basketball. Oh, the return was not that pretty. The first few games, Michael was rusty. He failed to make some easy shots, things that might have been easy before he left basketball.

The lesson here is about practice. As great an athlete as Jordan was when he took up baseball, he had not really practiced those skills in almost 15 years. He had a less than stellar turn as a baseball player. When he returned to basketball, his basketball skills had gotten a little rusty. After a while of practicing basketball again, he returned to his legendary form.

There is another example of the power of practice: Tiger Woods. He is legendary for his daily practice, year-round. It is part of what has made him the best golf player today.

As I said in a blog earlier this year, practice is essential to a good, effective leader. Whatever skill is important and valuable to you should be practiced, practiced, practiced and then practiced some more. From running a meeting to public speaking to project management to relationship cultivation, when you stop doing it on a regular basis, you get rusty and make mistakes.

What skills do you need to practice? What skills are essential to your professional and personal success? Which of those skills got you to where you are now? Which will you need to go forward?

It's the power of practice.