Five Stages of Competency

Monday, March 2, 2009

When we decide to want something and decide to go for it. The first question that comes into our mind is that "Can I do it?" Right, this happens to everybody. In this article, we will bring you to the five steps to competency. We will see the development how human can change from not be able to do what we want into be able to do without even think about it.

Before we go into those stages, let's talk about why we need to understand this. In order to be more successful, people need more skills. No matter they are financial skill, career skill, relationship skill etc. We go through this so that we can acquire as many of the skills as we need to succeed. We will understand that what is worth learning or doing, it worth doing badly at first. All learning processes start from exactly the same point. Have you ever notice that most of the skills we start from knowing nothing at all? Let's say reading. When we were children, we do not know how to read. We started learning to read step by step. Then we started to notice that we can read some of the easy words. After practicing for a long while, we can read for just a glance. Here are the exact the same stages that we need to go through once we decide to acquire a new skill.

1. Unconscious incompetence: In this stage, we have ignorance. We do not know what to do and how to do it. We have no discipline and no skill. People in this stage can not deliver any result in the area. We do not even know that we need that skill in order to perform what we want.

2. Conscious incompetence: We start to notice that we lack the skill on the area. We feel painful and feel that to do the thing is difficult. This is when people start to give up because they know that they can not do it at that moment and they don't know how. Answer, learn it. Unfortunately, just a handful of people are willing to take a learning step. Not many people have enough discipline to train themselves until they get into the next stage.

3. Conscious competence: After the learning phase, we start to know that we are able to perform. We are not any more afraid of doing it. The things we do are easy now and we have confidence in the area. We have discipline on the skill and our skill grows significantly. We can now be in the mastery mode of the skill.

4. Unconscious competence: Once the skill has been practiced regularly. It becomes your asset. It dwells inside you. You are programmed now to make use of it any time you want to. Discipline is now not a major concerned since it is already there. The good example to this is the musician skill. A musician can stop play his talented instrument for decades. Once he comes back to it, he can still play it fluently. Or driving skill is another unconscious competence. Once you master it, it is now yours.

5. Conscious competence of conscious incompetence: This is the level of the teachers or master trainers. We have higher knowledge of the skills. We realize the area of the skill so well that we can train other people to practice the skill. We understand every aspect and are able to see the weak points of the incompetent people.

The five stages of learning will help us understand the learning process of any skill we require for our success. We can apply and be patient when we are in the lower stage and understand that to move up into the next level require time and efforts. But once you master it, it will be with you forever

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/five-stages-of-competency-164891.html


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