Mastery. Key number two in Daniel Pink’s book Drive.
Mastery is a mindset. They found that people who believe that intelligence and capacity for learning is a muscle were much more successful than those who did not. Those who believed these characteristics were fixed, when coming across failure, thought they just couldn’t do it because they lacked something. Those who believed they could grow in intelligence or capability, when they come across failure, were more likely to assume it was just part of the process…. and persist.
“Grit”- defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals”. Mastery is a pain as Daniel Pink says. It is the dedication to the idea of practice, trial and error, and failure as a stepping stone. They found that the Olympians who did the best typically spent the most time and effort on the mundane activities that readied them for races.
This is also called deliberate practice as described in Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. It is said that to master anything requires 10,000 hours. Geoff Colvin argues that the quality of the 10,000 hours is important. You just can’t log in the time and call it good. He goes through the stories of Jerry Rice, Tiger Woods, Mozart and others who were able to put in the deliberate practice hours. Check the book out now, but we can talk more about this concept later.
Another factor in mastery that both Pink and Colvin describe is the feeling of making progress. Pink describes another study with Harvard’s Teresa Amabile who found that the single greatest motivator is “making progress in one’s work.” People tend to feel more motivated and engaged if they feel as though they are getting better and progressing.
Are we offering people that work for us enough of a path toward mastery in their work? Is there a series of steps for them to progress through their work day? A new task set aside for them once they reach a certain level? Another challenge?
How can we incorporate a celebration and a motivation toward mastery with us and our team?
Pigs and People 