Level Up: Master Anything from Ground Zero with the Competency Model

My son just turned 15 and is quite nervous about the prospect of driving. He’s been asking me more and more questions about driving skills, driving behaviors, and has really begun to pay attention to the driving habits of others.

As I thought back to when I started driving I was trying to remember what it felt like when I started. I remember my first time behind the wheel of a full-size vehicle and realizing that I was now in control of an automobile. The amount of things I was trying to keep track of made me so nervous I almost didn’t pull out of the driveway. It just felt overwhelming. Also I was only 12 years old, but that’s a different story!?

Now, 30 years later, I’m a seasoned professional on the roads and it’s really become second nature to me. I didn’t start out that way, but through years of practice and skill building, I went from not knowing a thing about driving to being able to drive any vehicle in almost any road condition with confidence.

From Bumbling Boss to Ninja Leader

When I became a business leader for the first time, I experienced that same overwhelming feeling. There were so many new things I needed to keep track of and learn, and I constantly felt like I was missing things. Now, after years of practice and experience, I’m a seasoned leader who can effectively manage all of these tasks and effectively lead a business to success.?

When doing anything new, there’s a process that happens that takes us from a skill level of zero to high levels of proficiency. This process is called the competency model. There’s a number of different graphics out there to visualize this, but in this model, there are 4 stages: Unconscious Incompetence; Conscious Incompetence, Conscious Competence, and Unconscious Competence. We’ll break down these 4 stages, give you statements that define each level, and give you some basic understanding of how to reach each one. Finally, I’ll have a challenge for you at the end to help you start moving through the different areas and improve your own leadership competencies.

Let’s start at the beginning…

Ignorance Isn’t Just Bliss

Unconscious Incompetence: “I don’t know what I don’t know.”?

When starting a new skill, this is often the phrase many of us have either said or felt. When something is new and we’re just becoming aware of it, we really have no clue about what we know or don’t know about a subject. Much like my analogy of my son and driving, he really has no clue. He watches me drive, knows there’s knobs that do different things, I press the gas pedal to go forward, etc., but he really has NO CLUE of what it’s like to drive a car and doesn’t really know what information is valuable for him in driving.?

As leaders, we do the same thing. We get put into a leadership position only to realize that what we thought we knew about a role really isn’t what we know, and we have no clue what it’s going to take to be successful. Another good description of unconscious incompetence is “I know I’m not good at this but I don’t know WHY I’m not good at this.” Luckily, with a little time and study, we can move past this stage and begin having more awareness around our lack of skills.?

The Art of Knowing You’re Clueless

Conscious Incompetence: “I know what I don’t know.”?

This is the stage where we become aware of the things we don’t know and are preventing us from being successful. To keep the connection with driving, this is where you gain some awareness after driving around an empty parking lot and maybe neighborhood roads. You start working on basic skills and with that comes a HUGE realization of all the factors that are necessary in being a successful driver. Watching your mirrors, learning to change lanes, accelerator control, braking control, traffic, stop lights, and much more. Awareness comes with repetition, and it doesn’t take much repetition to start realizing what you don’t know.

In Leadership, this might look like becoming aware of the different metrics your role is being judged on or realizing you don’t know how to run a 1x1 with members of your team. It might even look like sitting in a leadership meeting and not completely understanding the entire conversation and realizing you’ve got a lot to learn.?

The Overwhelm Hurdle

I’ll add one thing here that is very important. For many people, this stage is also where so many give up on their journey to competence. The list of things they don’t know gets longer and longer and can become overwhelming, eventually causing them to make the decision to quit and try something different. This is where it takes an intentional commitment to change in order to be successful at learning something new.

In order to reach the next stage in the process, it requires two things:

1. A commitment to working towards change. Going from Conscious incompetence to the next stage (conscious competence) requires changing your behavior so you can learn the skills necessary to become competent in your endeavor.?
2. Put in the reps and practice, practice, practice. Changing behaviors isn’t going to happen overnight. It comes with consistent practice AND having a plan to change and improve.

When Effort Meets Execution

Conscious Competence: “With focus and effort, I can apply what I know.”?

This is the first stage of building confidence in your new skill, and you’ve become aware of how to be successful. An individual has worked through their feelings of incompetence and lack of skill to gain control over their actions and perform. In driving terms, They’re ready for you to take them on the road and put their skills to use.?

In leadership terms, this might look like understanding the KPI’s your team needs to succeed or successfully running your first month of focused development with your team. If you can make it to the conscious competence level, you’ve got the building blocks in place to achieve the next level.

The Mastery Autopilot

Unconscious Competence: “I am an expert and can perform the tasks without thinking.”?

This is the stage we all strive for: Mastery. This is where things come naturally and can be done without having to consciously think about every step. With our driving analogy, this is the ability to drive without having to think about all of the necessary elements to perform the skill.

In leadership, this may look like being able to “shift conversations” quickly and go from a discussion on performance or KPI’s to a 1x1 or even spearheading efforts in your department. You’ve practiced and developed the skills so much that they come naturally and without thinking. You might even be able to begin teaching these skills to others and developing leadership skills in members of your team.

Beyond the Book

At Mission Squared, our goal is to help move leaders from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence as quickly as possible. We want to help you gain mastery over your leadership skills. In an effort to help you take that next step, today, I’d like to invite you to be part of a 10-day challenge that takes just 5-10 minutes a day.

While reading books can help you gain insight and move you to the level of conscious incompetence and figure out “what you don’t know”, without an amazing level of discipline to follow what a book tells you, it’s only going to get you halfway there. The best way to learn quickly is to learn from people who have already mastered a skill you want to learn.?

This is where Mission Squared cohorts and in-person training can benefit your leadership team. These options offer dedicated and focused training, skill building, and feedback in real-time to help you develop the skills to become the greatest leader you can be for your organization.

I know I said it before, but it’s worth repeating here. As people move through the different phases of competence, the stage where many give up is the second stage called conscious incompetence. This is the stage where having a guide, coach, or expert can help you stay the course and reach mastery, and where Mission Squared can help your leadership team improve AND set you up for long-term success.

If you’re ready to take the next step for you and your team, give us a call.