There is an ongoing debate about whether great leaders are born or made. Warren Bennis, a highly respected scholar on leadership, says that it is dangerous to believe that leaders are born. It may be that the desire to lead is inborn, but leaders are developed over time. The best leaders are deliberate and intentional about practicing to get better at what they do.

I recently finished reading Geoff Colvin`s book, “Talent is Overrated,” and was discussing the value of his concept of “deliberate practice” with a client. This particular leader is an artist and the executive director of a successful nonprofit art organization. She and I worked together for about a year on developing her capacity for leadership so she could more effectively engage and inspire her staff and her board.

From the beginning, she was more prepared to be a leader than many of my clients. She just needed some discipline and practice in the finer points of working with others, along with some accountability to assure that her practice continued and was working. Her preparation as an artist had prepared her to be a natural leader.

Colvin`s book contains numerous examples of how deliberate practice ?€“ the intentional, regular practice of a specific skill ?€“ can lead to success. The problem is that most of us don`t have the discipline or the accountability to practice. And we`ve probably never realized that the same principles of practice that apply to musicians or visual artists also apply to leadership.

I believe my client was able to make the changes she made because she “got” what it means to practice deliberately. Artists understand that to get better at what they do, they need to continually work at the specific medium they have chosen. So she knew, intuitively, that to improve her leadership, she would need to practice certain skills.

Great leadership requires that we create new habits. New habits come from practice. As you practice and work intentionally at a skill, it eventually becomes second nature. It`s just like learning to read or drive a car. Remember how difficult those were in the beginning and how much you thought about them as you were learning the skill?

This artist-leader taught me a thing or two. Determination, desire and regular practice were things she did already, although in a different realm. The leadership habit ultimately became so ingrained that her significant other claimed she was leading in her sleep! He told her that he heard her using phrases such as, “We`re all in this together,” and “Whatever we do, it will be awesome,” as she dreamed.

To be really good at this leadership thing, you must develop habits. And once you become a leader in your sleep, you`ll know that you have those habits down!

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