As those of us who play, manage, coach, officiate, or are somehow involved in sports organizations know, practice can make perfect. No one who has achieved any level of success in sports -- especially team sports -- does so without hours and hours of practice time. On the pitch, on the field, on the court, on the course, practice is essential to perfecting your talent.
What is amazing about this principle is that it is true for almost everything (think musical instruments!). No sport is exempt, no business is spared, no organization or even recreational activities (dancing?) is immune. We need to be practicing in order to be better. According to author Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Outliers: The Story of Success, we need at least 10,000 hours of practice to fully accomplish any skill and that is the key to success in any field. He uses wide ranging examples from the Beatles to Bill Gates. (Click here to see an interesting interview with Gladwell on the Outliers book.)Thus, I have been reflecting on how we might practice partnering and facilitation. How can we develop those talents and skills we might have in facilitating the process of collaboration? No easy answer. Despite good attempts that some of us have put together to provide simulation experiences for partnering process -- real-time partnering "practice" is hard to come by.
In addition, though tips, techniques, principles and process can be taught, facilitative leadership in partnering is much more a way of perceiving; a mode of embracing awkwardness; a way of dancing; a manner of spontaneity, an approach of "thinking on your feet." I have come to the opinion that, much like entrepreneur inclinations, you either have it or you don't -- you can't really learn it (especially not from just education).
Though education can be a foundation for us, to be a facilitator (as I have written elsewhere) is to be fearless; to be courageous.
So here are four suggestions on how we can perhaps learn from the world of sport, and how drills, practice and preparation can assist us in getting better.
1) Visualization. Certainly, one of the more underrated practices. Prior to partnering events, we can visualize what we might expect, what challenges could occur and how we might handle that. In addition, we can picture how things will turn out, the energy created, the relationships established. Since a good piece of success in partnering comes from relational reconciliation, rehearsing difficult conversations and visualizing positive results can be an effective tactic. In sports, visualization is essential to high-level success (see yourself scoring; making a good pass; crossing the finish line, etc.). It is amazing how our expectations can help the process!Though education can be a foundation for us, to be a facilitator (as I have written elsewhere) is to be fearless; to be courageous.
So here are four suggestions on how we can perhaps learn from the world of sport, and how drills, practice and preparation can assist us in getting better.
2) Reading. Blogs, articles, books, websites,etc. As mentioned above, I just don't believe that you can learn to be a top level facilitator. However, all of us can be better than we are! We can certainly be challenged to think differently, see things in other ways, pick up suggestions and even see principles in action. Among other things, in this section of practice we might be able to learn how others tell stories, how illustrations can be made, and how metaphors can be utilized.
3) Game Film: All top athletes use film and video to make themselves better. Golfers and tennis players watch their swing and make adjustments; soccer, basketball and football teams watch films of opponents for tendencies they can exploit; etc. For those of us who do facilitation of partnering, finding game film is a bit more difficult! Most of the time, video of partnering events just doesn't (or cannot) happen. My suggestion here would be to go to other partnering events and watch how others networks organize, structure, and facilitate collaboration. Ask if you can be an observer in one of the leadership discussions before, during or after a partnering gathering.
4) Coaching. As we know, all partnering efforts are unique. The people involved, the context or geography, even what we are attempting to do together is different. Thus, just like in sports, we all need a good coach to help us see things we might not see. In some settings, this can be a mentoring/coach relationship where we learn from those we believe have the gift of facilitation. (Important note, as in the case of elite athletes, the best of the best are not always able to coach others very well). Much of what I see as effective coaching is taking place as peers come together to share best practices, failures, and lessons learned. No one -- athlete, business person or agency leader -- is too old, too experienced, or too knowledgeable to learn from others.
What other ideas do you have on how else can we be practicing?
