Have you ever come across leadership programs or articles that use the phrase “The Art and Science of [something]”. “Something” could be “leadership”, “difficult conversations” or pretty much any topic.

The phrase is used because it seems catchy. It wants to suggest that leadership has components of both science and art.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Sure, there is ‘management science’ and there is a need to be creative, courageous and expressive. But none of this helps leaders develop the skills they need to become better leaders.

If we want to become better leaders , there’s a better analogy: leadership is a craft.

As in a craft, there are tools and techniques that we can discover, practice and master. Rarely are those techniques mind-blowingly complicated or intellectual. There is no scientific rigor required, and the tools are not reserved for just a talented few.

Leadership tools and techniques are accessible to all of us.

What’s important is how we go about learning them: reading an article, watching a video or even attending training about any leadership technique isn’t enough. A sense of feeling inspired by the muse or a ‘Eureka’ moment of a scientific discovery doesn’t make a leader. An insight or inspiration can be a great starting point to develop our leadership skills, but that’s all it is: a start. Now comes the hard work.

Take the Next Step

Here’s what to do to hone the craft of leadership:

1. Think of an inspiration or insight about leadership that you had recently. Use this topic as the starting point to get better.
2. Do a bit of research to find out what is ‘state of the art’ on the topic.
3. Based on what you discovered in your research, pick one skill orbehavior that you want to work on. Your selection needs to relate to the topic, and it needs to be your access point for getting better in the chosen leadership area. The selection you make should be at the intersection of having impact on others and being easily accessible to you.
4. Here comes a bit of a scientific part of this: design an experiment where you test out what you have chosen as a skill and behavior. Select situations (or people) where you practice the new skill/behavior and also select situations where you don’t practice it. By doing this experiment you can more easily find out ifwhat you’re doing is effective . It’s a good way to calm down the inner critic inside us, who may say, “ This won’t work. ” Try it out as an experiment, and then you’ll see whether and how it works.
5. Now comes a feedback loop: adjust based on what you notice. When successful, move to the next leadership area you want to improve.

Not an art, not a science, but a craft. When you hone you’re craft, you’ll achieve the result that comes with it: you’ll be a master in leadership.