Deliberate practice at work: A study with insurance agents

This paper applies the concept of deliberate practice (Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch‐Romer, 1993) to work settings. Deliberate practice comprises regularly performed activities which aim at competence improvement. It is hypothesized that the amount of deliberate practice is positively related to work performance. Results of a study with 100 insurance agents provided evidence for the occurrence of deliberate practice activities in work contexts. The amount of current time spent on deliberate practice was significantly related to supervisory ratings of insurance agents’ work performance. Accumulated amount of time spent on deliberate practice in the past was not related to work performance.