Practice for Improving Skills at Work: What It Takes

The Importance of Practice for Improving Skills at Work
Imagine trying to fight a fire after reading a book on firefighting, watching a video, or even attending a one-day training course. The reality is clear: true proficiency comes only from hands-on practice coupled with timely feedback. Yet too many leaders and employees assume that intellectual understanding alone is sufficient, underestimating the transformative power of deliberate practice in developing workplace skills.

While Malcolm Gladwell famously suggests that mastering a skill requires 10,000 hours of practice, research and workplace experience show that becoming proficient enough to enhance on-the-job performance takes far less time. Focused, purposeful practice — reinforced with feedback and real-world application — can rapidly elevate capability and confidence, turning theoretical knowledge into practical impact.

Why Practice Matters
To develop a new skill and improve performance, practice must be paired with feedback and adjustment. Real progress comes from experiential learning: trying, identifying what works and what doesn’t, course-correcting, and trying again.

Learning inherently requires stepping out of your comfort zone. Whether you’re perfecting a golf swing, sharpening your ability to deliver a persuasive presentation, or mastering any professional skill, deliberate practice is the key. Just ask any concert musician or professional athlete: consistent hard work, focused training, and ongoing drills are what drive improvement.

No student ever walked into Juilliard ready to perform flawlessly, and no football player has ever stepped onto the Super Bowl field without countless hours of practice and feedback shaping their abilities. Excellence isn’t given — it’s earned through repeated, purposeful effort.

The Importance of Practice for Improving Skills at Work
The same principle applies in the workplace: learning new skills requires effort, dedication, and deliberate practice — and that effort pays off.

• Our research on organizational alignment shows that Talent accounts for 29% of the difference between high- and low-performing teams across key metrics, including revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction, leadership effectiveness, and employee engagement. Yet training alone rarely moves the needle.
• Measurement of more than 800 training initiatives found that only one in five participants improves their on-the-job performance when training is not reinforced with consistent practice, coaching, and accountability.

In short, skill development is not a passive process. Knowledge without application is wasted potential, and organizations that fail to embed practice and feedback into customized learning programs leave performance gains on the table.

What It Takes to Improve Skills at Work
Once you understand the importance of practice for improving skills at work, take these steps to make improved performance a reality.

1. Ruthlessly Focus on What Matters Most to Both Business and People Performance
   Not all skills carry equal weight when it comes to executing your business strategy. Invest the time to pinpoint the skills that matter most to your employees, their leaders, and the organization. Then concentrate on the one or two critical skills — and the one or two high-impact scenarios — where improvement will drive the greatest results. Precision in focus ensures that effort translates directly into meaningful performance gains.
2. Create an Environment for Learning, Practice, and Feedback
   Project postmortem data consistently shows that people need dedicated time, encouragement, and space to learn, make mistakes, and receive feedback. Expect a learning curve, foster practice and calculated risk-taking, and recognize those who model the courage to try.

   The most effective learners prioritize practice and feedback every week. If your team cannot commit the time to practice consistently, training alone is unlikely to deliver results — and you may save resources by postponing it until the environment supports real application. Learning only sticks when it is actively applied and reinforced.

3. Provide Relevant Job Aids and Tools
   To accelerate skill development, equip learners with job aids, microlearning modules, and tools focused on the one or two skills that matter most. Effective job aids boost performance by giving employees immediate access to the models, frameworks, and information they need to apply new skills on the job. Step into the learner’s shoes: keep these resources simple, directly relevant, and easily accessible, so they seamlessly support practice and real-world application.
4. Provide Targeted and Consistent Performance Coaching
   Practice alone does not make perfect. Time spent on an activity rarely leads to meaningful improvement unless it is paired with clear, actionable feedback. Practice with effective coaching is what drives true skill and performance growth.

   Assign coaches and create individual development plans that include simple, relevant, and measurable goals. Hold employees accountable not just for practicing, but for applying their skills and demonstrating performance gains. Consistent, targeted coaching transforms effort into tangible results.

5. Measure Progress and Hold People Accountable
   Regular measurement and accountability ensure that learning translates into performance, closing the gap between effort and tangible business impact.  Establish a clear process to measure, track, and answer three critical questions:
   • Adoption: Are employees consistently applying the new knowledge, skills, and processes?
   • Reinforcement: Are managers actively supporting and reinforcing the desired behaviors?
   • Impact: Are the new skills driving the outcomes and results you intended?

The Bottom Line
Deliberate practice and timely feedback — particularly during early learning or when performance stalls — drive measurable improvements in skills and results. The real question is whether your organization is creating the environment your people need to learn, grow, and perform at their highest potential.

To learn more about the importance of practice for improving skills at work, download How to Connect the 2 Biggest Training Disconnects to Increase Training Impact