Head Games: The Use of Mental Rehearsal to Improve Performance

In a Nutshell
        Mental rehearsal of performances is an excellent way to support skill development.  LeaderLetter subscribers have told me that they've found mental rehearsal useful for job interviews, presentations, cheerleading performances, athletic performances, sales calls and teaching.  There are numerous opportunities to use mental rehearsal to master managerial behaviors too.

In This Issue


Why Jack's So Slow
        Many people believe that Jack Nicklaus (on the left in the photo above) is the best golfer in history.  However, he's also known for spending quite a bit of time standing over the ball before taking his shot.  Interestingly, what he does while standing over his shot could be the key to his dominance.  Jack is known for visualizing his shots.  When standing over the ball, he imagines himself taking the swing and the ball traveling along its path toward the hole.  The combination of actual practice and mental rehearsal can be very effective.  Of course, the benefits of mental rehearsal skills aren't limited to the golf course.

A Managerial Example: Visualizing Supportive Communication
        Here's an example of how a manager could use mental rehearsal to improve her management skills:  Morgan, a manager, will meet with Whitney, one of her staff members, at 2:00 to discuss the performance review that she gave him.  She knows that Whitney is likely to disagree with the review, because Whitney has never really been very objective about his performance.  Last year when they met to discuss his performance review, Whitney raised some concerns about the scores that he received, and that put Morgan on the defensive.  She started to argue with him.  Arguing with Whitney was counterproductive, because it caused negative feelings and didn't lead to any consensus.  This time, Morgan wants to use her effective listening skills.  Mental rehearsal before the meeting will help.
        At 1:50, Morgan stops what she's working on and spends a few minutes mentally rehearsing a few possible exchanges between Whitney and herself.  She visualizes Whitney raising some concerns about his performance review and imagines herself listening carefully, paraphrasing back to Whitney what she understands his perceptions and concerns to be, and probing for additional information.  She also visualizes herself tactfully explaining that she had a different perception, and clarifying for Whitney what her expectations are for her staff members.  Morgan imagines that her efforts to listen to Whitney, even though she can't always agree with him, helps to keep him from becoming very frustrated and belligerent.  She visualizes herself summing up their conversation at the end, and discussing what steps Whitney can take to improve his performance.  Finally, she imagines herself standing up, smiling and shaking Whitney's hand as their meeting comes to a close.
        When Whitney walks in at 2:00, Morgan feels confident and prepared.  As they begin to go over the performance review and Whitney raises some objections, Morgan tactfully listens and responds.  As expected, showing Whitney that she is listening to him helps contain the level of tension between them.  Even though Whitney walks away thinking that his scores should have been more favorable, he's not angry like he was after going through this process with Morgan last year.  Mental rehearsal has improved Morgan's performance!

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What Mental Rehearsal is and Why it Works
        Mental rehearsal involves imagined, mental practice of performing a task as opposed to actual practice.  That is, when engaging in mental rehearsal, one imagines performing without having to actually do anything.  (Insert your favorite consultant or management professor joke here.)  Many studies have found mental rehearsal to be successful at improving task performance and reducing stress.
        As the cliché goes, "Practice makes perfect."  Yes, practice is helpful, but perfect practice is clearly superior to repeated poor performance during practice.  Because mental practice is perfect practice, it is also a confidence-booster.  Experiencing success increases confidence, even if that experience is imagined.
        Basketball fans recognize the old cliché that goes something like, "Free throw shooting is 90% mental, 10% physical."  It's true that a major determinant of a free throw shooter's success is his or her mental activity before taking a shot and through the process of shooting (I'm not sure about those percentages though).  Focus and concentration are very helpful.  Accordingly, mental practice seems to assist mental preparation for the process of shooting a free throw.
        A limitation, of course, is that one also has to have a certain degree of knowledge and skill for performing the activity in order to be successful.  My 5-year-old can't make a free throw no matter how much time he spends mentally practicing, because he lacks the strength to do so.  Mental practice should supplement other forms of skill development, not replace them.  For instance, role playing effective listening skills and getting feedback on performances helps to develop those skills in ways that mental rehearsal cannot.  Nonetheless, mental practice assists the skill learning process and provides the extra edge for those who have reached sufficient levels of skill development.
        We experience stress when we perceive threats or opportunities that we fear we cannot handle effectively.  Mental rehearsal can help us cope with stress in two ways.  First, mental practice improves self-confidence, so we can reduce our stress by visualizing ourselves successfully dealing with our challenges.  Second, relaxation is often a part of mental rehearsal exercises, and relaxation helps reduce stress.  The following procedure integrates the relaxation and the preparation features.

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A Mental Rehearsal Procedure1

  1. Find a time when you won't be interrupted, and it helps to recline or lay down.
  2. Close your eyes.
  3. Relax, concentrate, and focus.  Take deep breaths and exhale slowly.  As you exhale, imagine that stress is leaving your body.  Start at your feet ... feel all the stress leaving your feet ... then your legs ...  then your chest ... all the way to the top of your head ... feel all the stress leaving your body.  Free your mind of all distractions.  Allow your mind to focus on this activity.
  4. Focus on a specific challenging task for which you will use mental practice to improve your performance.
  5. Mentally tell yourself that you are confident and that you have the ability to perform this task successfully.  Repeatedly tell yourself, with confidence, that you will be successful.
  6. Mentally picture yourself just before you begin the task.
  7. Make sure you stay relaxed and focused.
  8. Now mentally rehearse successful performance of this task.  Imagine yourself as an active participant, not as a passive observer.  For example, if you imagine that you are putting a golf ball, make sure you imagine that you are standing on the green swinging the club rather than watching yourself from the gallery.
  9. Repeat step 8 several times.
  10. Open your eyes and smile.  You have successfully performed in your mind, and that is great preparation for actual performance.  Praise yourself for being successful!  You should now be confident that you will perform successfully in the real situation.  Praising yourself is helpful because self-reinforcement is a key to self-motivation.


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Note
1.  Based on Manz, C. C., & Neck, C. P.  (1999). Mastering self-leadership: Empowering yourself for personal excellence, (2nd ed.), pp. 70-71.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

About the Photo
        AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian: e-mailed to me from Yahoo! News; news.yahoo.com.

Other Sources
        Von Bergen, C. W., Soper, B., Rosenthal, G. T.  & Wilkinson, L. V.  (1997).  Selected alternative training techniques in HRD.  Human Resource Development Quarterly, 8(4): 281-294.
        Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2002).  Developing management skills, (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.

About the Newsletter and Subscriptions
        LeaderLetter is written by Dr. Scott Williams, Department of Management, Raj Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.  It is a supplement to my MBA 751 - Managing People in Organizations class.  It is intended to reinforce the course concepts and maintain communication among my former MBA 751 students, but anyone is welcome to subscribe.  In addition, subscribers are welcome to forward this newsletter to anyone who they believe would have an interest in it.  To subscribe, simply send an e-mail message to me requesting subscription.  Of course, subscriptions to the newsletter are free.  To unsubscribe, e-mail a reply indicating that you would like to unsubscribe.

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E-mail Your Comments
        Whether you are one of my former students or not, I invite you to share any insights or concerns you have regarding the topic of this newsletter or any other topic relating to management skills.  Please e-mail them to me.  Our interactions have been invaluable.  Every week, I learn something new from LeaderLetter subscribers!  Let's keep the conversation going.

A Good, Clean Joke
        "I had the strangest dream last night," a man was telling his psychiatrist.  "I saw my mother, but when she turned around to look at me, I noticed that she had your face! As you can imagine, I found this very disturbing, and in fact I woke up immediately, and couldn't get back to sleep. I just lay there in bed waiting for morning to come, and then I got up, grabbed a Coke, and came right over here for my appointment. I thought you could help me explain the meaning of this strange dream."
        The psychiatrist was silent for a full minute before responding, "A Coke? You call that a breakfast?"

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