The LMAP methodology for taking action based on 360 feedback is to develop a singular Leadership Development Goal (LDG). LDGs are often focused on changing a pattern of behavior that is having an unintended negative consequence. For example, the highly intelligent, innovative leader who is often two steps ahead of the conversation in a group meeting may mentally jump ahead and start looking at email on his smart phone while waiting for the conversation to catch up to where he thinks he knows it’s going.
While this may seem to be a practical use of time in his mind, his LMAP feedback indicates that this behavior is creating perceptions that he is not actively present in meetings, not interested in others’ thoughts or ideas, and that he is even sometimes rude or inconsiderate.
While changing these kinds of habits can be challenging, a growing body of work indicates that you are not trapped or bound by your “natural leadership style” but instead can become more effective through deliberate practice:
The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf Th. Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Romer Psychological Review 1993, Vol. 100. No. 3, 363-406
Geoff Colvin, Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everyone Else
Daniel Coyle, The Talent Code
Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers
David Shenk, The Genius Myth
Matthew Syed, Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success
Using the principles of Deliberate Practice to successfully implement your LDG:
- SET THE GOAL “Self-regulation begins with setting goals – not big, life-directing goals, but more immediate goals for what you’re going to be doing today. In the research…The best performers set goals that are not about the outcome but rather about the process of reaching the outcome.”
- MONITOR YOURSELF “The most important self-regulatory skill that top performers in every field use during their work is self-observation. Even in purely mental work, the best performers observe themselves closely. …Top performers do this much more systematically than others do; it’s an established part of their routine.”
- GET CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK “Practice activities are worthless without useful feedback about the results. These must include self-evaluations” and “the best performers judge themselves against a standard that’s relevant for what they’re trying to achieve….”
Abbreviated quotations from Talent is Overrated, Geoff Colvin 2008
How have you incorporated deliberate practice into your leadership development efforts?