god forbade...must reading

Learning

   Atul Gawande, wrote an article, sub-titled,

     "Top athletes and singers have coaches. Shouldn’t you?"

   He talks about the development of expertise: in four stages of learning: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and finally, unconscious competence.

    The very uncomfortable stage of conscious incompetence is probably the stage that most impedes our learning. As wordsmith Franklin P. Jones commented,

    "Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger."

    In order to develop expertise, you need 10 years or 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. Psychologist Anders Ericcson's research, has resulted in the now almost clichéd 10,000 hour rule.

    Malcolm Gladwell publicized the conclusion in his book Outliers: The Story of Success. Sometimes what gets lost in the popularization is that the 10 years or 10,000 hours isn't just rote repetition; it's a sustained and mindful process involving critique and change.

    That's where coaching comes in. Improvement involves working at what we're not good at. Gawande notes,

    "In theory, people can do this themselves. But most people do not know where to start or how to proceed....The coach provides the outside eyes and ears, and makes you aware of where you're falling short. This is tricky. Human beings resist exposure and critique; our brains are well defended."

Kate F. Hays, Ph.D.

Psychology Today