From my coaching and consulting with Entrepreneurial minded people we will eventually come across something that they need to be reminded about.
Successful people have learned a skill, behavior, ability, or technique so well they just flow in excellence. They have become unconsciously competent! But not everyone in their world of relationships are at this same level.
Least they forget that there are other states or levels of learning and thus competence. Other people they deal with in their every day dealings are probably at a different step on the ladder of understanding.
These four states of learning and change can be thought of as steps on a ladder. In the model, you move through the phases as follows:
State 1: Unconsciously Incompetent
You don’t know what you don’t know. You don’t have the awareness of the existence of the skill, behavior, ability or technique. The trainee or learner will normally not see the need for learning. It’s essential to establish awareness prior to attempting to impart or arrange training or skills.
State 2: Consciously Incompetent
You know what you don’t know. You are aware of its existence but are not competent yet. Teachers and trainers commonly assume trainees to be at state 2, and focus effort towards achieving state 3, when often trainees are still at state 1.
State 3: Consciously Competent
You know what you know but you need to think about it when performing the skill. This is where a person can perform the skill reliably at will. The person can perform the skill without assistance.
The person should be able to demonstrate the skill to another, but is unlikely to be able to teach it well to another person. Practice is the simple most effective way to move from state 3 to state 4.
State 4: Unconsciously Competent
You know what you know and don’t need to think about it. You have achieved a high level of skill and awareness. The skill becomes so practiced that it enters your unconscious part of the brain – it becomes ‘second nature’. You are in “the Flow” and you appear to do this effortlessly.
This person might now be able to teach others in the skill concerned, although after some time of being unconsciously competent the person might actually have difficulty in explaining exactly how they do it – the skill has become largely instinctual.
Do you know of a top sales person that is great at selling but who has difficulty teaching others and explaining how she does it?
Maybe you have told someone how to do something but they just don’t get it like you got it….. after years of practice.
But being at this state 4 is when you need to be mindfully aware, especially when you are trying to relate to other people.
What happens when your are NOT aware of your level and you are communicating with someone who is at state 2 or state 3?
What happens when you take a person at state 3 and make them a trainer?
What if you are dealing with a new prospect communicating the value of your offering and they are at statel 1- ‘unconsciously incompetent’ ?
Imagine how helpful it would be to be aware and listening more actively so that you can develop more enduring business relationships.
Consider how you can apply these learning states for more effective and engaged training of employees.
So where do you go from here? There is a suggested fifth state of this model: Conscious competence of being unconsciously competent– which describes a person’s ability to recognize being in state 4. I like the term “reflective consciousness”.
More to come in future posts……
If this information is new to you, how can you now use this in your business – in your relationships?
