In Praise of Conscious Incompetence
6 April 2015
Read by 3291 persons
Sometimes, while reading, talking, or acting, we realize we don't know how to do something; we lack a skill. When this happens, we can decide to develop this skill, set a goal, and plan the necessary actions. But it is ultimately this sudden awareness of our incompetence that opens the way to the possibility of change!
There is a learning model called the "conscious competence model." This model is based on the idea that we learn in 4 steps.
This theory was developed in the 1970s by Noël Burch, an employee of "Gordon Training International."
The model states that we are first unaware of our incompetence in a field. If an event leads us to realize our incompetence, we then move into a state of conscious incompetence. We can then decide to acquire this skill, through learning for example, and implement it. We are then in a phase of conscious competence. Through practice, this skill becomes a habit, enters our comfort zone. We are then in a state of unconscious competence.
The step in this cycle that seems most valuable to me is the one where we move to conscious incompetence. I value it highly because it is the origin of possibilities for change and therefore development. If we are not aware that we lack a skill, starting to acquire it ultimately makes little sense and has a low probability.
Through listening and questioning, a coach can lead the person they are supporting to gain awareness; an "insight" then occurs in their brain about a skill they lack. This happened to me personally when I was supported by a peer, and this moment is magical; it's a "Eureka!" a "Of course!"... quickly followed by a surge of energy to move forward on this new subject if we decide to start learning!
We thus go from ignorance to mastery of a skill by following these steps:
Caroline Carlicchi.
Huffingtonpost.fr
Published March 25, 2015.
Posted April 6, 2015.
There is a learning model called the "conscious competence model." This model is based on the idea that we learn in 4 steps.
This theory was developed in the 1970s by Noël Burch, an employee of "Gordon Training International."
The model states that we are first unaware of our incompetence in a field. If an event leads us to realize our incompetence, we then move into a state of conscious incompetence. We can then decide to acquire this skill, through learning for example, and implement it. We are then in a phase of conscious competence. Through practice, this skill becomes a habit, enters our comfort zone. We are then in a state of unconscious competence.
The step in this cycle that seems most valuable to me is the one where we move to conscious incompetence. I value it highly because it is the origin of possibilities for change and therefore development. If we are not aware that we lack a skill, starting to acquire it ultimately makes little sense and has a low probability.
Through listening and questioning, a coach can lead the person they are supporting to gain awareness; an "insight" then occurs in their brain about a skill they lack. This happened to me personally when I was supported by a peer, and this moment is magical; it's a "Eureka!" a "Of course!"... quickly followed by a surge of energy to move forward on this new subject if we decide to start learning!
We thus go from ignorance to mastery of a skill by following these steps:
- Unconscious incompetence: We don't know that we lack the skill in question, that we would need to learn it. We may not know the usefulness of this skill. It is an awareness that allows us to confront our incompetence and trigger a possible desire for change.
- Conscious incompetence: Although we are not competent, we recognize our deficit in this skill and value the contribution this new skill could have in our professional or personal life.
- Conscious competence: We know how to do it; we know that we have developed the skill. However, to implement this new skill, we need to concentrate, to pay conscious attention to what we are doing. We then use an area of the brain that works a bit like a computer processor, powerful but with limited capacity: the prefrontal cortex.
- Unconscious competence: We have repeated it so much that we have developed a habit. Using the skill is done unconsciously, automatically... At the brain level, this repetition allows the creation of a routine that is stored in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia.
Caroline Carlicchi.
Huffingtonpost.fr
Published March 25, 2015.
Posted April 6, 2015.
