No tricks – technique! Now we’re talking. It’s all about our manner or style of execution – via technique, not tricks. As always, some operational definitions can set the tone.
Trick: an intent to deceive or cheat
Technique: the employment of technical skill
An intent to deceive or cheat … how many times in life do we hear someone saying to fake it until you make it? I understand the utility of the phrase. The problem is, “fake it til you make it” can only have a positive impact in combating two specific behavioral circumstances; overcoming irrational insecurities, or reprogramming negative self-fulfilling prophesies. The phrase “fake it til you make it” offers a competitive edge to self-esteem, but my core message here is not about self-talk, it’s about skills acquisition and my intent is very clear; there is no value in getting away with something – just learn it right the first time.
Who ever you happen to be, just be that person. No setting out to deceive, no plotting how to show how much you know (it usually demonstrates the opposite). I’ll grant you a foundational premise here – there is work involved in developing skill. Work is a given in life, so forget about faking competence. How often do we lament the criminal’s ingenuity and effort, when that same effort and talent could applied to positive effect.
In my work developing leaders the ‘fake it’ mentality is rampant. The problem is, if we’re always faking it, if we’re all trying to deceive others into thinking we know what we’re doing when we do not, we will never ask for help, for guidance. The world is so complex today, so ambiguous, that no one can have all the answers. The leader of the future, the teacher or the parent of the future – will all have to learn how to ask. They will learn not to fake it, but instead to work on developing competence with the help of others. The unexpected bonus – genuine, purposeful labor can be a joyful journey in itself! No tricks, technique.
-Don Brown
don@donbrown.org
Don Brown dedicates his career to ‘helping people with people’ in leadership, sales and customer service. Bilingual and experienced at the executive and line-level alike, you see the results of his work across dozens of industries, including brewing, automotive, airline, banking and medical equipment.
Speaking, writing, coaching and selling to the best – Ford Motor Company, Anheuser-Busch, United Airlines, Harley-Davidson, Jaguar Cars, Hilton Hotels and many, many more – Don takes great pride in long-standing customer relationships (some running well over twenty years).
