What’s Beneath You

When working with leaders, I often ask them to script out their language and to role-play conversations, framing, and feedback they’re going to share with the people on their teams.

Rebel Culture and Skyrocket vets are very used to this, but sometimes, newer partners cringe and even push back on the idea. It feels uncomfortable for them. Especially for folks in the corporate space who have very little experience doing this kind of stuff.

For some leaders, I imagine it feels “beneath them” to design and practice in this way. After all, the person might be the CEO of a mega-successful company or a lifelong educator or the best salesperson on the team.

Here’s the thing: we can all get better. To act like any of us is a finished product isn’t just foolish, it’s negligent. And what’s actually beneath all of us isn’t scripting and practicing, it’s having the ability to be better but being unwilling to do so. It’s have total control around our improved performance and choosing not to take action.

To prepare for her Eras Tour, Taylor Swift spent months singing her entire three-and-a-half hour set while running on a treadmill (she actually walked quickly during the slow songs and jogged during the faster ones).

The pessimist reading this might think that this kind of thing is easier for Swift to do than it would be for us. That she is so wealthy and has so many resources that she has the time and the space to practice in this way.

The optimist reading this knows that a key reason why she’s in that position at all is because she’s that committed to being the best she can be and has been operating in this way for years. Even back when no one knew her name.

Script, role-play, and practice doing things differently. Ask a teammate for feedback. Ask them to practice with you. Heck, maybe even get a treadmill for the office if it’s in the budget. Either way, you’ll all be better as a result.