Adopting A New Role: Hierarchy Of Competence
Theory Introduction
Have you ever wondered why you feel the way you do when you start a new role? After the initial excitement of securing the role, this can be overcome by being overwhelmed by an overload of new information and the panic of not knowing the new role. All while wanting to make a strong impression on your colleagues and senior stakeholders. The Four Stages of Competency Model lays out the critical stages of learning and the progression from being incompetent and not knowing anything about the subject to being competent and thoroughly skilled. Not only will this help you get up to speed when you have secured the role, but an understanding of these stages will enable you to demonstrate your awareness of the support needed if asked during the interview.
The model provides a framework of the key stages you will pass through when learning a new subject or job, enabling you to understand what support you need to progress. If used effectively, an understanding of these stages can help accelerate the learning process, as you will be able to self-calibrate your progress at each stage and articulate the support you need to progress.
The four stages appeared in the 1960 textbook ‘Management of Training Programs by three management professors at New York University. Management trainer Martin M. Broadwell called the model ‘The Four Levels of Teaching’ in an article published in February 1969. Paul R. Curtiss and Phillip W. Warren mentioned the model in their 1973 book ‘The Dynamics of Life Skills Coaching’. The model was used at Gordon Training International by its employee Noel Burch in the 1970s; there, it was called the “’The Four Stages for Learning Any New Skill”. Later, the model was frequently misattributed to Abraham Maslow since the model does not appear in his major works.
Theory Introduction
Unconscious Incompetence: You don’t know what you don’t know. When new in a position, the amount of information thrown upon you through handovers and inductions is often overwhelming. The initial excitement and optimism can take a knock when you feel the enormity of the learning curve ahead of you, and this is just the tip of the iceberg – there is still much you don’t know, and you don’t even know what it is you don’t know! Don’t panic – this is normal. Knowing you are in the Unconscious Incompetence stage should be a comfort. You can recognise your incompetence by identifying that you are in this stage. Being able to articulate your understanding of this phase shows excellent self-awareness.
Conscious Incompetence: You start to know what you don’t know. As you become more familiar with the objectives and accountabilities of the role, although you may not understand or learn how to do certain things, you recognise the gaps. Making mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage. The stage can be demanding as you know your incompetence, which can affect confidence. If you are aware of your incompetence, others are aware you are incompetent – right? Again, understanding the model and the stages you are at adds rationale and context to how you feel.
Conscious Competence: You start knowing what you should know and how to do it. However, doing it takes effort, conscious thought, knowledge-building, and concentration. Although confidence is restored as you will not feel as incompetent as in previous stages, this period often results in frustration. You know what you need to do, but things take longer than they should, as you have to learn how to do them or apply recent learnings for the first time, which takes effort and time.
Unconscious Competence: You know what you are doing and don’t need to think about it. You understand the role’s requirements, the tasks involved, and how to deliver them. You have had many practice tasks that have become ‘second nature’ and can be performed easily without applying conscious thought. At this point, confidence is high; you and the people around you recognise your competence and experience in the role. You can simultaneously deliver multiple elements of the role and look to start driving developments and efficiencies in the role and training others.
It should be noted that individuals progress through the stages at different speeds depending on personal circumstances. The length of time an individual spends in a specific stage depends on the individual and their strengths, resilience, and learning agility. However, regardless of the speed of progress through the stages, progress through each stage can be accelerated and supported by identifying and asking for the appropriate support.