Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Optimizing Unconscious Competence at Work
I've mentioned before about how I admire the work ethic of NFL quarterback Tom Brady, bemoaning in the process that he plays for "my" Miami Dolphins' chief rival, the Patriots. Brady is known to stand facing a wall and endlessly repeat his stances and throwing motions in order to perfect them and reinforce these actions to the point where they become unconscious, freeing him to think about more pressing issues during a game...like his receivers' sometimes errant pass routes or that linebacker who's unexpectedly coming up at him on a blitz. Brady's philosophy of work is similar to mine in that first you master every aspect of your assignment that you can turn into unconscious routines, and that involves looking on a micro-level at the precise ways that you arrange things and the order in which you perform your functions. I believe...and it has been borne out over the course of my work life...that if you can commit as much of your job to unconscious competence, then that will allow you to focus your intelligence and volition on the inevitable glitches and exceptions that arise from all sources. I've recently begun a new job assignment at my workplace and I've still working hard on getting everything in order...the basics are simple enough but it's also easy to get tripped up over details if I'm not careful. But I've found that while I still have a ways to go before I've made those parts of this assignment fully unconscious routines, I am still better able to effectively react when things don't go as expected. But I also realize that I work as part of a team and that there are aspects to my work that involve me respecting how those with whom I directly work do things. So if one day I walk into a room and the setup I am used to arranging has been done a little differently by someone else, then I flow with it...I think a lot of us sometimes forget that in our jobs...especially those that involve processing material commodities or providing services to the consumer public...we're also charged with treating our fellow employees in a constructive and respectful manner. And, bringing it all back to the beginning, I suspect that this area is also one where Tom Brady excels...why, oh why does he have to play for New England?
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