The Mastery Quest: Part Two
Art Tatum, 20th Century Piano Master Beyond Compare
In our last post, “Mastery: The Fierce Urgency of Now,” we discussed: a model of mastery development (apprentice-journeyman-master craftsman); how mastery goes beyond skill and knowledge to a heightened improvisational grace under pressure; and mastery as domains of resilience—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.
In Part Two, we’ll begin to operationalize mastery and relate the aforementioned domains to a paradigm crucial for business and organizational success in the 21st century.
Dynamic Equilibrium: Mastery No Matter the Key or Tempo
Just imagine: no matter the circumstance or situation, you maintain faith and belief in yourself. No matter the doubters or naysayers, you move forward. No matter the cruelty and division, you tap into wellsprings of love and creativity as expressions of your highest self, your soul in action.
This is like jazz musicians who maintain composure and a dynamic equilibrium of poise under the pressure of changing tempos, key signatures, and moods, as found in this stunning display of mastery and virtuosity by the nonpareil piano genius Art Tatum.
Such ideals apply to mastering the moments of our daily lives. One way to approach such mastery, a state we call living life as fine art, is to have masterpiece days. As a journey takes place one proverbial step at a time, so does the mastery quest begin one day at a time.
So, let’s briefly pursue what a masterpiece day might look like.
Masterpiece Days
A masterpiece day, for those striving to achieve excellence and high-performance, is a day that includes cycles of deep work, focusing keenly on the necessary tasks that will move the needle in the direction of your highest goals, which are based on your highest values and life mission.
Deep work is a foundation for the flow states we’ve mentioned time and time again. In his manifesto against distraction and shallow work, Cal Newport details how with just four hours or so of deep, focused work per day on matters of true value we can improve our own lives, levels of achievement, and enhance personal meaning and fulfillment.
These cycles of deep work should be sprinkled, consistently, with rest, breaks, movement, and deep play.
A key performance practice, as Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness put it in their book Peak Performance, is to “alternate between stress and rest in your most important pursuits.” Intense activity, whether physical or mental, should be followed by periods of recovery to recharge.
That’s why if you engage in, say, and an hour of undistracted deep work, take 5-10 minutes to recharge by taking a walk or meditating. After four actual hours of deep work, not checking emails and news threads and social media posts, take the time to do other meaningful activities for yourself and others. Focus and deep work alternating with rest, play, and non-work socializing is a key to why several companies have found that by cutting the workweek from five to four days, stress decreases and productivity and employee satisfaction rise.
To live life as fine art, balance deep work with deep love and deep play, share your time, focus, energy and commitment in service to others, from your spouse and children, as well as the causes and people in need of assistance. Be and become your best, and via your mastery inspire and uplift others to become their best. These are fundamental aspects of collaborative leadership in and for the 21st century.
. . . leadership is not a formal position; it is a choice to deal with people in a way that communicates to them their worth and potential so clearly that they will come to see it in themselves.
—Stephen Covey
Four-Dimension Leadership
According to Stephen Covey, a key reason why organizations fail to become great and enduring is because they maintain a limited view of who and what their people are. In The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness Covey argues that too many organizations hold on to an Industrial Age approach to work, whereby the main assets and primary drivers of economic prosperity were machines and capital—things. People were necessary but could be replaced. Their bodies were important, their minds, hearts and spirits much less so.
But today, in what he called a transition from the Knowledge Worker Age to the Age of Wisdom, a whole-person paradigm is necessary. Whereas “things” can be managed, people require four-dimension leadership which views and values not only the body, but the mind, heart and spirit.
Four Dimensions of a Whole Person
These “four universal dimensions of life,” Covey says, “also represent the four basic needs and motivations of all people: to live (survival), to love (relationships), to learn (growth and development), and to leave a legacy (meaning and contribution).”
I’ve heard folks of my generation and older shake their heads about how “entitled” members of the millennial generation seem to be, and how “unrealistic” their expectations are. Yet I think that millennials are tapping into a deeper current of expectation: I want to be valued so I can express my whole self at work, not just with friends and family at play and leisure.
Covey’s extension of this whole-person model at work applies the four universal dimensions:
The paradigm above is far from pie-in-the-sky. In a digital age of knowledge workers, in which our human creativity, emotional mastery, and improvisational wisdom differentiates us from automation and AI, organizations that satisfy the needs of the whole-person will have a competitive edge in the 21st century.