Risk & Business Magazine General Insurance Services Spring 2020 | Page 23

GROWTH FORMULA
W
hen you look at
the development
of world-class
performers, I truly
believe that you’ll
find a blueprint for any of us who are
trying to achieve excellence in our own
lives.
The blueprint was first documented
by Benjamin Bloom, a psychologist
at the University of Chicago. He
studied 120 world-class performers
in diverse domains ranging from
tennis to neuroscience. Based on
his observations and my own, I've
identified four distinct phases of
developing talent: interest, practice,
integration, and growth.
1. INTEREST
Before you do anything else, you have
to be interested in what you do. You
have to be authentically curious. You
have to want to learn more just for the
sake of learning more. This period,
Professor Bloom often called the Early
Years, or sometimes the Romantic
Period, because there is this playful
flirtation with something that you may
or may not pursue more seriously.
2. PRACTICE
After the early Romantic Period comes
a pattern of dedicated practice. This
involves working on weaknesses,
looking to a coach for feedback,
and really striving with effort to
consistently improve. Of course,
dedicated practice is a more serious
pursuit, which is why this stage is
sometimes called the Precision Period.
Scientists today call it deliberate
practice: looking with intention
for ways to improve in a skill, with
feedback typically from a coach or a
mentor.
3. INTEGRATION
Practice is a prelude to the third stage,
a period called the Later Years or
the Period of Integration. After you
"BEFORE YOU DO
ANYTHING ELSE,
YOU HAVE TO BE
INTERESTED IN
WHAT YOU DO."
integrate early playful interest with
the capacity for sustained deliberate
practice, this thing that you're doing—
whether it’s swimming or chess or
running a company—starts to become
a part of who you are. It is part of your
identity.
This is part of our purpose here on
earth. Because we're human, all of us
crave being part of something larger
than ourselves. It's an integration of
everything, including a sense in which
we as individuals are serving a larger
group.
4. GROWTH
Throughout all of our development,
no matter how old we are, we need a
mindset of growth and optimism. This
is a topic of scientific study that dates
back 50 years. It is the idea that we can
approach a situation—good or bad—
and think, “What can I do here? What
can I as an individual do to change
things for the better and keep things
on course?”
That is an optimistic, growth-oriented
mindset. You need it if you're seven,
you need it if you're 77, if you’re going
to pursue excellence or persevere when
life gets hard. Being growth-oriented
toward possibility allows people to get
back up when we fail.
Angela Duckworth is the Founder and
CEO of Character Lab, a nonprofit
whose mission is to advance the science
and practice of character development.
A 2013 MacArthur Fellow, Angela has
advised the White House, the World
Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and
Fortune 500 CEOs.
Angela has received numerous awards
for her contributions to K–12 education,
including a Beyond Z Award from the
KIPP Foundation. Angela's TED talk
is among the most-viewed of all time.
Her first book, Grit: The Power of
Passion and Perseverance , is a #1
New York Times best seller.
AngelaDuckworth.com
Even when you're budding in your
interest, even when you're practicing
deliberately, even when you are
fulfilled by a beyond-the-self purpose—
at all stages you need that mindset of
growth and of optimism. +
*This article was adapted from an interview
with Amazon Marketplace. - amazon.
com/b?node=17395092011
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