Episode 117 - Why 10,000 Hours of Practice Isn’t Perfect

<h2 data-pm-slice="0 0 []"><strong>Summary</strong></h2> <p class="">In this episode we explore why 10,000 hours of practice isn’t perfect, and how we can make practice better.</p> <h2><br /> <strong>Transcript</strong></h2> <p class="">Hello and welcome to episode 117 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. In this episode we explore why 10,000 hours of practice isn’t perfect, and how we can make practice better.</p> <p class="">“Practice makes perfect” - at least that’s how the old saying goes. In fact, you’ve probably also heard that 10,000 hours of practice makes you an expert or master. The 10,000 hours figure was popularised by one of my favourite writers, Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers: The Story of Success. While the general principle is right - that practice is an essential part of becoming an expert - the exact number of hours is at best arbitrary. The quoted figure is based on the work of Alders Ericsson who observed that the most accomplished violin students he studied had put in, on average, 10,000 hours of practice by the time they were 20 years old. Importantly, 10,000 hours was an average rather than a minimum standard. Ericsson found that some violin students had practiced significantly more, and some significantly less, than 10,000 hours to achieve that level of expertise. Even at that point they still all had room to go to truly become experts.</p> <p class="">And, as Ericsson noted, not all practice is created equal. Undertaking mechanical repetition - just doing the same thing over and over - doesn’t improve performance much at all. Undertaking deliberate practice - where we focus on making changes and trying new things to move us towards a goal - is much better. Not every hour of practice is equal.</p> <p class="">We also start from different points. If I put 10,000 hours into practicing a 100 metre sprint at this point in my life, I’m still highly unlikely to reach a truly competitive level. I will improve, for sure. But I won’t