Practice How You Play, and You Will Play How You Practiced: Keys to Inspiring Leadership

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“It is not the will to win that matters – everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” Paul “Bear” Bryant

Once we finish the inspiring leadership programs we deliver at Unlock Engine, we conduct satisfaction surveys as part of our continuous improvement process. Among the questions we ask, there is one in particular where we evaluate the participants' interest in becoming an inspiring leader. The result is an overwhelming 90% of positive responses. The problem we often see with this question is that the majority do not understand what it takes to achieve it.

The art of leading, in my opinion, is like any other discipline. There are three fundamental elements to becoming an expert and achieving success:

First, you must learn the fundamentals. Knowledge of them provides you with the foundation to achieve it. You cannot become an exceptional painter if you don't learn the technique, nor will you become an inspiring leader without knowing in detail which behaviors lead you to achieve it.

Second, once you understand what you must do, you have to practice it repeatedly, fail a good proportion of the time, and refine your skills. They say practice makes perfect, and this applies equally to leading. To become a great leader, you have to deploy the right behaviors. Many times, you will need to change habits that do not help you in the process. All of this definitely requires conscious practice until you reach unconscious competence that will lead you to success.

Third, you must have the commitment to want to become an inspiring leader. This is sometimes easier said than done, because committing implies being willing to acknowledge your failures, wanting to learn, not giving up in the face of mistakes, and staying firm in your conviction no matter what happens.

Without this last element, the other two will not be achieved, either because you never have the true willingness to learn or because you feel that with a little practice you have already mastered it, which is mostly false. But, equally, great commitment is useless if you are not given the fundamentals and the opportunity to practice them.

During my professional training, I learned many things, but I must be honest, the first time I had people under my charge, I did not have complete clarity about what I should do as a leader. I was clear about my responsibilities as a manager, but I didn't know how to lead.

I had great commitment and a strong intention to practice, but I really didn't have a clear understanding of the behaviors that would make me a great leader. This is the complexity of leading; it requires you to perfect certain behaviors and be consistent with them, otherwise the whole process is useless. Behaviors as important as trust require, among many things, practice and perseverance, because as they say, trust goes up by stairs but down by elevator; one failure can erase all progress.

Some years ago, I saw the movie "Eddie the Eagle." It tells the true story of Michael David Edwards, a Brit whose dream was always to participate in the Olympic Games. The big problem was that he didn't excel in any discipline. It is a movie that, in my opinion, is very good and entertaining; it is different and leaves many lessons. It is not my intention in this blog to spoil it for you because I really recommend you watch it. But I think one of the most important messages it left me with is the great difference between wanting to achieve something and really wanting to prepare to achieve it.

The world and our daily lives are full of examples like this. Surely many of us would like to achieve certain goals such as running a marathon, eating healthily, playing an instrument, etc., but very few of us have the true will to prepare to achieve it. That is the big difference. It is the same in leadership. I hear many people who want to be leaders, dream and imagine their life and successes when they are, but unfortunately, not everyone decides to prepare to achieve it.

I am convinced that leaders are not born; leaders are made with dedication, effort, and much sacrifice. I also firmly believe that all people deserve to have a great leader. This may or may not be their boss; in the end, that is just an assignment. But what we really want to find on our path is that person who helps us to be better, to develop our full potential. You can decide to prepare yourself to be that person.