The book The Encore Effect by Mark Sanborn is a quick read which is worth picking up.

Amidst a number of insightful suggestions, Sanborn espouses the importance of preparation to top performance. We all prepare for work challenges and tasks, but do we actually practice important skills? 

Sanborn asks readers to “think about the difference that ten minutes of practice a day on your performance would make” (p.p. 70). Although Sanborn also mentions--as does  Malcolm Gladwell  in Outliers--that it takes ten years to achieve top performance, he also writes about “deliberate practice.” Sanborn describes deliberate practice as “incorporating new insights and understanding as you practice daily” (p.p. 71).

How many of us make time for deliberate practice daily? Before a presentation or speech, we all (hopefully) take adequate time to prepare. But what about everyday tasks?
Although it is important to be clear about how we want to improve certain skills and how to go about doing so, simply understanding this is not enough. We need to put skills and knowledge into action.

Sanborn suggests that individuals “First, summarize critical actions." He goes on to say “Make sure that you examine your performance for those actions that make it remarkable, not just passable” (p.p. 77).

Once we identify critical actions and the skills that support them, practice will help us refine them. Top-notch performance is supported through the use of documented goals, required competencies, development plans and performance expectations, yet, building time into one’s schedule to practice will further learning and development.

Practice can be accomplished a number of ways.

Ask others for feedback on specific skills. For example, we could tell our direct reports that we are working on improving our listening skills and ask for weekly feedback on our progress.

Make a conscious effort to refer back to learning resources obtained at training courses when we incorporate new learning into day-to-day work. 

Ask a colleague to observe our performance--related to a performance goal--for ten minutes in order to give us feedback.

How do you incorporate practice into your workday?

References:

Sanborn, Mark. The Encore Effect. New York: The Doubleday Publishing Group, 2008.