While NHL All-Star Steven Stamkos’ performance last week contributed to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s rout of the Phoenix Coyotes, it’s his dedication to practice and repetition of proven strategies and techniques in thousands of practices and games that prepared him for that moment.

This same level of commitment is often missing on the corporate playing field when salespeople avoid the dreaded role-play and leaders neglect perpetually honing their skills. From the C-suite to the front office to the support team, there often persists an avoidance of implementing, practicing, and repeating improved skills and ways of doing business. It’s little wonder that what are perpetuated, as a result, are the same old out-dated methods and techniques that no longer fully meet the needs of internal and external customers.

Methodical mastery of any skill and every job requires consistent practice and repetition of true best practices and enhanced methods. Just as Stamkos shows this leadership on the ice, corporate leaders must also lead by example as they improve themselves and hold their direct reports to do the same. Leaders who fail at this commitment should be thrown in the penalty box or even out of the game since their actions are the equivalent of flagrant misconduct in the NHL.