Hierarchy of Competence
Starting something new is always a little painful, isn’t it?
I am a creative type and it especially comes out if I see a piece of art for sale. I will proudly exclaim, “They want HOW much? I can just make it at home.”
Later, you will see me struggling to create what I saw, and I will quickly realize how much I don’t know about that particular form of painting style. Sometimes, I give up. Sometimes, I deep dive into YouTube to uncover the secrets.
As part of my CoActive Coaching training, we learned the Hierarchy of Competence model, developed by Noel Burch in the 1970s. Burch explains that in attempting to learn any new skill, we go through four stages:
Stage 1 - Unconsciously incompetent. Essentially, we don’t know what we don’t know. Or perhaps, we are incorrect about a situation and aren’t even aware of it. When I find myself standing in a store, having never attempted a painting style before and proclaiming “it can’t be that hard” this is my unconscious incompetence.
Stage 2 - Consciously incompetent. Or as I like to say, we now know exactly what we don’t know. This is me, at home, making an absolute mess of that canvas in front of me, completely aware that perhaps that artist actually knew a thing or two more than me.
Stage 3 - Consciously competent. This is where continual practice and all those YouTube videos on painting come in. You are working at your craft, and it’s getting better, piece by piece.
Stage 4 - Unconsciously competent. You are no longer practicing. Instead, you are confidently and without awareness, a master of the skill.
Most people will stop at Stage 2. You tried something, and it was hard. That thing must not be for you, as you aren’t a ‘natural’ at it. You give up, and move on to something else.
True growth happens when you can embrace how awful that incompetence feels, and you keep at it. You dig deeper. You learn more. You explore the area around it. You settle into that discomfort, until it becomes comfortable.
This is where coaching can help. Coaches provide an outside point of view, to help you uncover your own naturally creative, resourceful, and whole self. Have an area where you feel consciously incompetent? I’d love to help. Let’s connect!