"The deliberate-practice mindset offers a very different view: anyone can improve, but it requires the right approach."
- Peak, page 122
"Deliberate practice is for everyone who dreams. It’s for anyone who wants to learn how to draw, to write computer code, to juggle, to play… It’s for all those people who want to take control of their lives and create their own potential and not buy into the idea that this here, right now, is as good as it gets."- Peak, page 146
The authors note that while anyone can improve in an area they wish to focus on, there are some factors that may limit the extent of an individual’s performance. For example, physical attributes in sports. But that aside, it does not mean that we can never be good at it—we may just be limited on the world stage in comparison to others who have the right genes. They also note that some of the approaches and methodologies for deliberate practice may prove most beneficial for children. Again, this does not mean adults cannot achieve their goals as it’s possible “for adults, even older adults, to develop a wide variety of new capabilities with the right training.” This honesty is part of what makes this such an inspiring book as it tells us that what we have come to believe is incorrect, that neuroscience research is proving that our brains and body are adaptable and that we can most definitely achieve our ambitions with the right attitude and discipline through deliberate practice.
The principles of deliberate practice in everyday life involve the following steps:
"You need a teacher or coach who assigns practice techniques designed to help you improve on very specific skills."- Peak, page 100
Deliberate practice requires building or revising existing skills by focusing on particular aspects for improvement. This requires being able to learn from those who have better skills than we do. It is also important to recognize when we have outgrown our teachers and find new ones who can further develop and build our previously acquired skills. The authors use the analogy of a staircase to represent the concept of continuous learning and the need to consistently seek others who we can learn from and who can help us continue to climb the staircase and reach our goals. And who knows, along the way we may be asked to teach others who want to learn the skills we’ve picked up along the way.
"…the dark side of believing in innate talent … can beget a tendency to assume that some people have a talent for something and others don’t and that you can tell the difference early on…The best way to avoid this is to recognize the potential in all of us—and work to find ways to develop it."- Peak, page 242
As a coach, I often work with clients to reflect on their language and observe how it shapes their world and informs their perceptions. As leaders, colleagues, friends, and parents, we are not always aware of the impact of our words on others, nor do we always take time to consider how we might reframe our own thinking to help shape our conversations. The authors raise such an important point about how we can inspire ourselves and those we care about by believing in innate talent. What I love about the concept of deliberate practice is its underlying message that anyone has the potential to achieve peak performance—as long as they have the drive and motivation to work at developing their interest into a talent.
In Peak, Ericsson and Pool use famous individuals from a broad range of disciplines, who we generally see as naturally gifted, to confirm that excelling in any area is within reach. They have combined their knowledge and findings in neuroscience with practical case studies to provide an amazingly simple approach for anyone to follow to achieve peak performance. What do you wish you could be better at? What are you waiting for? Seize the methodology identified by Ericsson and Pool and begin to turn your wish into your reality today!
K. Anders Ericsson is a Swedish psychologist and Conradi Eminent Scholar and Professor of Psychology at Florida State University who is internationally recognized as a researcher in the psychological nature of expertise and human performance.