The world is in a leadership crisis.

Despite a booming $67.3 billion leadership development industry projected to nearly triple by 2032, the industry hasn’t made much progress in developing good leaders or preventing bad ones over the past 10, 100, or even 1,000 years. In fact, Barbara Kellerman, a professor at Harvard Business School, critiques, “The leadership development industry seems not in any major, meaningful, or measurable way to have improved the human condition.”

Ouch.

Dr. Theo Dawson, founder of Lectica, provides further evidence of this gap. In her recent analysis of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) skills across organizational leadership levels, she revealed that leaders at entry, mid, and senior levels fall significantly short of the ideal developmental benchmarks for their roles (Dawson, 2024). These findings are troubling, particularly in a world that demands leaders who can collaborate, adapt, and make sound decisions in increasingly complex environments.

 

The challenge of leading in today’s interconnected and complex world has exposed a significant gap between what leaders know and what they do. This phenomenon, often called the “knowing-doing gap” (Pfeffer & Sutton, 1999), illustrates how acquiring knowledge doesn’t always translate into actionable skills.

In a recent presentation to approximately 80 participants, I asked how many had watched a leadership video, read a leadership book, or attended a leadership class in the past year. Nearly every hand in the room went up. However, after demonstrating what skill-building and deep practice look like by playing my instrument, the euphonium, I followed up by asking how many had practiced leadership skills through deep, reflective, embodied practice. The kind of practice required to build skills slowly, over time, with intention. Only three hands remained raised.

The knowing-doing gap was right there in front of us all! We know a lot about leadership, but when it comes to actually putting it into practice, we are beginning music students trying to coordinate the note reading, the fingers, and the air together. If you have ever heard a beginner musician, you know exactly what that sounds like.

Much of our data about human and leadership development reflects this gap. This disparity highlights the pervasive nature of our “knowing culture,” where readily accessible information is consumed but seldom deeply digested or integrated into actionable habits. The widening knowing-doing gap has profound implications for leaders, leaving many ill-equipped to meet the demands of today’s ever-shifting and increasingly complex world.

The challenge we face is clear: we need better, more capable leaders. But if traditional leadership development isn’t working, what will? The answer lies in rethinking how we approach leadership development. I believe there are three fundamental changes we can make to develop leaders who thrive in today’s high-stakes environment:

1. Prioritizing Deliberate Practice in Leadership Development
2. Engaging Leaders in Long-Term Developmental Coaching
3. Creating Intentionally Developmental Environments in Organizations

In this article, I’ll focus on the first: deliberate practice in leadership development. I’ll dive into the remaining two in follow-up pieces.

Prioritizing Deliberate Practice in Leadership Development

In fields like music, sports, and art, we understand that mastery requires deliberate, intentional, and reflective practice. Deliberate practice involves greater intentionality; it leverages deeper reflections and returns again and again to the application and refinement of valuable skills. Leadership is no different. The journey from knowing to doing in leadership development depends on more than just theory and education; it demands intention, practice, action, and reflection.

Deliberate practice, a concept pioneered by psychologist Anders Ericsson, is a structured, intentional approach focused on refining specific skills through targeted feedback and repetition. For musicians, this means engaging in highly focused, goal-oriented practice rather than merely playing through pieces. Research consistently shows that elite musicians follow regimented practice routines, breaking complex pieces into manageable components and concentrating on areas requiring improvement.

For more than 35 years, I’ve practiced, taught, and studied music under the guidance of some of the most world-renowned mentors. They instilled in me the discipline and rigor necessary to achieve mastery on the concert stage. Skills that have proven equally vital in life beyond music.

Over the years, as I practiced for performances, professional auditions, and international competitions, I learned to dissect the most challenging passages of music into smaller, more manageable parts. Each practice session was deliberate: I set specific goals, had clear concepts in mind for the sound I wanted, the techniques I needed to achieve, the phrasing I desired, and the message I aimed to convey. I learned to identify patterns in my weaknesses and to seek out solutions, whether that was slowing down a difficult run, isolating large interval leaps, experimenting with alternative fingerings or breathing techniques, or focusing on the direction and intention of individual notes. As a result, deliberate practice became second nature, not just as a tool for improvement but as a mindset for achieving excellence.

My experience as a teacher reinforced the importance of this process. Whether working with young students just beginning to explore their potential or with more advanced musicians, I encouraged a focus on intentional repetition. I showed them how to isolate specific skills, evaluate their performance, and reflect critically on the outcomes. It’s never about simply playing the piece — or, as musicians say, “putting all the right notes in the right places,” it’s about refining the details, returning again and again until mastery becomes possible.

This approach to skill-building is also essential for leadership development. Just as musicians concentrate on precise fundamental elements of their practice, leaders need to break down complex tasks, such as decision-making, conflict resolution, and effective communication, into specific small skills that can be honed through practice. Leaders also benefit from structured practice within real-world contexts, where they can receive constructive feedback in the moment, reflect, and adjust their approach over time.

At Lectica, Dr. Theo Dawson, a pioneer in leadership development who has developed what many experts consider to be the most nuanced psychometric instrumentation for leadership capabilities in the world, incorporates this principle of deliberate practice into their leadership assessments. Lectica emphasizes the iterative skill-building of micro-skills through its Virtuous Cycles of Learning (VCoL) model, where leaders practice targeted micro-skills, apply them in daily roles, receive feedback, and refine their approach. This cyclical process mirrors musicians’ methodical practice to progress toward mastery, helping leaders bridge the knowing-doing gap and enhancing their adaptability and resilience (Lectica, 2023). Much like a musician revisits a piece repeatedly, layering in nuance and mastery, VCoLs encourage leaders to continually apply their developing skills in increasingly complex and integrated ways. Over time, this iterative practice builds fluency, adaptability, and confidence in handling increasingly complex challenges.

Research backs this approach. Deliberate practice in music, sports, or leadership leads to significant performance improvements over time (Macnamara, Hambrick, & Oswald, 2014). By embedding deliberate practice into leadership development programs, organizations can equip leaders not only with knowledge but also with the actionable skills needed to perform effectively in challenging, ever-changing environments.

Despite the widening knowing-doing gap, a skills-focused approach to leadership development is yielding promising results. Lectica reports an increase in scores on their Leadership Decision-Making Assessment (LDMA), demonstrating that intentional skill-building efforts are making a measurable impact. These scores are attributed to the continual development of their skill-building approach and the “Lappies” (Lectical Leadership Development Consultants- of which I am one!) continual focus on micro-skill building.

Tuning Out the Noise: The Quiet Path to Leadership Excellence

It’s no surprise that we are falling behind. We live in a world where busyness has become a badge of honor, leaving little room for the deep, intentional work required to build leadership skills. Work demands have grown exponentially in complexity, while the constant stream of short-form content from social media and digital distractions has chipped away at our ability to focus for extended periods. At the same time, the demands of our personal lives, whether it’s managing family commitments, staying connected with loved ones, or simply keeping up with daily responsibilities — stretch us thin. In such a fast-paced environment, it’s easy to see why we’re falling short on deliberate practice.

But here’s the hard truth: deliberate practice is not supposed to be easy. It’s hard work mentally, emotionally, and physically. I will never forget the mix of accomplishment, frustration, and pure exhaustion I felt after a long, grueling practice session. That feeling of pushing through discomfort, confronting my weaknesses, and refusing to settle for mediocrity became both my greatest challenge and my greatest reward.

Through decades of musical training and performance, I’ve learned that mastery doesn’t come from mindless repetition. It comes from intentional, deliberate work — from isolating the weak spots, returning to them with focus, and applying feedback in real-time. As leaders, we can take a page from the musician’s playbook: commit to the hard work of deliberate practice and build leadership skills the same way we would learn a concerto.

Just as I’ve experienced standing on a stage after countless hours of intentional preparation, leaders can experience a similar mastery when skill and confidence align under pressure. The path from knowing to doing may not always be easy, but with deliberate practice, reflection, and feedback, it is achievable.

Bibliography

• Dawson, T., (2024, December 2). VUCA Skills and management levels [Article]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vuca-skills-management-levels-theo-dawson-qcjge/?trackingId=PpBdTRzvyBiRxuRXYCmNSQ%3D%3D
• Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363–406.
• Fischer, K. W. (2006). Dynamic skill theory and its implications for learning and teaching. In Handbook of Child Psychology (Vol. 2, 6th ed., pp. 313–399). John Wiley & Sons.
• Lahey, L., & Kegan, R. (2016). An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization. Harvard Business Review Press.
• Lectica. (2023). Lectica Leadership Assessments and Virtuous Cycles of Learning (VCoL). Retrieved from Lectica.
• Macnamara, B. N., Hambrick, D. Z., & Oswald, F. L. (2014). Deliberate practice and performance in music, games, sports, education, and professions: A meta-analysis. Psychological Science, 25(8), 1608–1618.
• Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (1999). The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge Into Action.Harvard Business School Press.