The 4 Stages of Competence

Unconscious Incompetence

You are completely ignorant of the skill and your inexperience.

Conscious Incompetence

You know the skill but haven't mastered it yet.

Unconscious Competence

You execute the skill naturally.

Conscious Competence

You can use the skill but with a lot of effort.

Unconscious Incompetence

This is where you don't know what you don't know. There is a skill that you are missing but you don’t even know what it is yet.

Conscious Incompetence

This is the stage where we realise there is a gap and identify the exact skill we need to develop. We come to terms with our ignorance and incompetence in a particular area Here we come to a crossroads We have to make a decision whether to lean in and begin the journey of learning this skill or acknowledge we have a gap in a particular area and be intentional about living with it.

Conscious Competence

This is where the learning begins. Conscious competence is the stage where we are actively working on the skill but we are still novices

Unconscious Competence

The final stage where we ’ ve mastered the new skill or behavior such that it's instinctive.