The art of mastery: what MSLs can learn from great performers

Have you ever seen anyone do something so well that it takes your breath away? You see what they are doing and then you notice the expertise, the controlled subtly, the mastery at work right before your eyes.

I was re-watching “All the President’s Men” recently and took particular notice of the two stars, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. For a moment, I turned the volume down and simply watched them act. They did so much of it with little moves, eyes, glances, shuffling of papers in a precise way. So well, in fact, that I got used to the volume being off!

The movie won four Oscars, but neither Redford nor Hoffman were the recipients. Jane Alexander was one of two actors who were nominated, she for Best Supporting Actress. So, I went to her somewhat brief scene (and, yes, turned the volume down!) and my goodness what a mix of emotions and inner strength!

As I go through my day, I tend to look for these moments not only in film, sometimes watching television (sound on!), but also my day-to-day check-in with American Airlines, grocery store self-check-out helper, and even a friend or two, volume up!

Actors consider themselves “trained,” sometimes even “classically trained.” But no matter how trained or educated they are, the successful actors are able to convey real emotion in a pretend plot. One actor told me, “My job is to rehearse so much that it all looks spontaneous.”

And I thought of our MSL work. What are you doing that is equal to that standard? More than you think!

- We do look in the mirror ‘til we say “Yes!”

- We do prepare for our day.

- We do know our stuff.

But what are we doing with that little bit of Redford and Hoffman, and certainly of Jane? And what do we do so intentionally that it looks natural and spontaneous?

Take a look at their scenes and let me know what comes to mind about you.