Knowing Your Strengths: Putting the Conscious Competence Ladder to Work

The world is moving than one could imagine, and understanding and honing our strengths can sometimes feel like trying to catch a moving target. Whether in a personal life or a professional setting, clarity about our skills and competencies can often seem elusive.

In Receptive and Ready: How to Drive on Developmental Input, Artell Smith and Betsy Hagan present an outlook on how feedback can help one grow. A section of the book highlights the importance of the Conscious Competence Ladder, a system that offers an overview of our standing and how we can improve our skills.

Competence Ladder offers a roadmap helping us identify where we are in our journey —and, more importantly, how to keep climbing.

What is the Conscious Competence Ladder?

The Conscious Competence Ladder is a model that breaks down skill development into four stages. It provides a foundation to help us understand where we stand and how to improve.

Developed by Noel Burch, the process plays a key role in understanding that progress isn’t always immediate; instead, it unfolds gradually as we move from not knowing what we don’t know to achieving a level of skill that feels like second nature.

The Four Stages:

1. Unconscious Incompetence: This is the stage where we are unaware of what we need to learn. And sometimes, our lack of understanding can lead to overconfidence.

2. Conscious Incompetence: This is the stage where we are aware of our shortcomings. For some people, it can be frustrating, but this is where there’s a potential for growth.

3. Conscious Competence: With practice and dedication, we start to gain the skills we need, but it still requires effort and focus.

4. Unconscious Competence: Finally, we reach a place where the skill becomes second nature, allowing us to perform confidently and effortlessly.

Understanding this ladder helps us see that each stage is part of a natural process. More importantly, it reminds us that feedback and self-awareness are vital to moving forward.

Climbing the Ladder: Leveraging Feedback to Grow

Feedback plays a pivotal role in ensuring progress through the Conscious Competence Ladder. It provides the direction and focus we need to advance at every step. Being open to feedback allows you to introspect and opens new avenues of growth.

Here are a few ways you can leverage feedback at each stage of the ladder:

• Unconscious Incompetence: Ask around for feedback with an active approach, even if it’s hard to accept. This is when feedback will help you identify the problems, shifting you from complacency to awareness.

• Conscious Incompetence: This part can feel like an obstacle for the majority, but it’s where progress starts. Use feedback to set specific, actionable goals that turn awareness into learning.

• Conscious Competence: Here, feedback refines and reinforces. By focusing on the subtleties of what’s going well and what can be improved, we start transforming our skills into strengths.

• Unconscious Competence: Once we find rhythm, feedback can help us maintain and elevate our skills, ensuring we don’t lose our edge.

Adopting a Growth Mindset: Moving from Scarcity to Abundance

Mindset plays a vital role in interpreting feedback and viewing our development journey as we climb the ladder. It’s important to understand that believing that skills, time, or success are limited resources can keep us from fully embracing feedback.

However, adopting a positive mindset allows us to look at challenges and constructive criticism as opportunities, not hurdles. Instead of running away from challenges, we find a way to use them as a catalyst for growth.

Practical Steps for Mastery

To make the Conscious Competence Ladder work for you, try these steps:

1. Identify Your Stage: Reflect on your current skills. Are there areas where you feel overconfident but need more knowledge? Or are you practicing skills that still feel effortful?

2. Invite feedback Regularly: Don’t wait for formal reviews—invite input from trusted mentors, peers, or managers. They can offer insights that align with your stage of competence and clarify areas to focus on.

3. Reflect and Adjust: After receiving feedback, reflect on it. Integrate new insights into your approach, and be willing to adjust as you go.

4. Celebrate Progress: Recognize and celebrate when a skill begins to feel effortless. Acknowledging progress keeps you motivated and aware of your growth.

The Reward: Authentic Confidence

One can cultivate an authentic sense of confidence by following the Conscious Competence Ladder with intention and openness to feedback. Instead of relying on surface-level assurances, we build deep-seated skills that empower us to thrive in every area of life.

Whether you’re just starting or refining expertise, putting the Conscious Competence Ladder to work unlocks your potential. Embrace feedback, lean into the journey, and watch your strengths evolve, leading to personal satisfaction and professional success.

Do you want to learn how you can improve and use feedback as a tool? Get Receptive and Ready: How to Drive on Developmental Input now.