Playing and practicing are different endeavors. Playing makes me smile and practicing make my brow furrow. Playing ignites dopamine sparks all over my body. Practicing awakens part of my brain that would prefer to stay asleep. Truth be told, I would play more than practice if I just lived alone in the woods. But because I share partnerships with many other artists, I practice more than I play.
And the truth is, practicing something that resonates with your purpose feels good. The joy of growth isn’t meant to be fun and easy. The worthwhile stuff – the stuff that feels amazing long after the act – is fun and hard.
The application to teams in any industry is obvious. Mental health clinicians devote about a two-to-one ratio of time managing collateral complexities of their clients’ circumstances for every hour they spend delivering therapy. It’s probably more like a 4:1 ratio for athletes. Business leaders are ‘exempt’ employees from a Human Resources perspective because an ‘hourly’ arrangement would never capture the time consumed away from their desk.
Accountability is more than showing up on time and following through with commitments. It most often operates behind the scenes. It gets measured in fleeting moments on whatever metaphorical stage becomes your platform. Those moments, however, are crafted and honed on your own time – usually on behalf of others.
