When an accidental short-cut takes you through a dark alley in the wrong part of town, your orange belt in Taekwondo likely won’t help much should you encounter a large, surly character with a scowl on his face. And that particular moment isn’t the best time to assure your traveling companion that your orange belt is going to save the day.
When you master a new skill — like earning your black belt — not only do you give yourself the confidence you need to tackle challenges as they arise, you also command the respect of your team, turning you into the “go-to” person at times of need.
Leadership experts agree. The Harvard Business Review cites motivational psychologist and author of “Nine Things Successful People Do Differently” Heidi Grant, saying that it’s never enough to be smart — “you need to always be getting smarter.”
Skill mastery is a crucial weapon in the arsenal of every good leader, indeed. Whether you’re a natural born leader or one that has to work at it a bit — choose a skill required in your industry and seek to be the number one expert at your workplace. The more mastery you gain in your new skill, the more you’ll master leadership skills, too.
Take Action
1. Be reasonable. When choosing your skill, take your natural limitations into account. If you’ve struggled with English and Grammar your whole life — scoring no higher than a “D” in college — you’re better off choosing a skill other than proofreading. Choose one that is clearly attainable.
2. Focus. Choose one thing to master at a time; keeping in mind that true mastery demands continual learning in the industry as it advances.
3. Read. Read all you can on your sought-after subject area of expertise. Read industry blogs and subscribe to industry newsletters. Schedule an hour a day minimum to immerse yourself in skill knowledge.
4. Practice. Head knowledge is never enough for true mastery. Look for as many opportunities as possible to practice your new skill and don’t be afraid to take on skill-related projects you’ve never done before.
5. Identify distracters. Be on the lookout for those things that tempt you away from mastering your skill. If it’s the routine demands of your day-to-day duties, come in to work half an hour early and leave half an hour later.
6. Write. Consider writing down one new thing you’ve learned related to your skill per week. This helps you stay committed and allows you to look back at far how you’ve come.
7. Expect failure. Failure is often the biggest predecessor to success. Understand that failure is normal and be easy on yourself when it happens. Pick yourself up and learn from your mistakes.
8. Leverage your knowledge. Once you’ve achieved skill mastery, it does you no good to keep that knowledge to yourself. Post your new certifications on your LinkedIn profile, add it to your resume and don’t be afraid to announce it to your team.
9. Keep learning. It may be tempting to put your feet up after mastering a skill, but once you do that, your mastery starts slipping away. Often as your industry grows, so will the number of new skill sets needed to accommodate it. Keep a regular time in your weekly schedule available to read and review the latest industry news related to your skill set.
10. Embrace progress. Your skill set may need to evolve to an entirely new skill set as the world progresses. The once-skilled switchboard operator eventually needed to learn how to operate a multi-line phone. Embrace progress early and be the first to change when your industry needs it.