The last and final stage is Unconscious Competence: You don’t know you know. Everyone strives to be in this last stage. In this stage, one is so familiar with the subject that they’ve learned that they sometimes surprise themselves with the knowledge that they’ve obtained. In this stage, one can “do it in their sleep”. They’re so familiar with the topic that they can unconsciously do it. When it becomes their second nature, or their sixth sense, they know that they’ve obtained the fourth stage of learning. This is like the boy being able to ride a bike while thinking about other things, because the action of riding a bike has become intuitive, requiring less conscious effort. This stage takes an absurd amount of dedication and time depending on the skill, but as some exceptional people have shown us, nothing is impossible to achieve.
Some theorists believe that there is a fifth stage. This stage is called Conscious Competence of Unconscious Competence. This is when someone has reached a level of understanding to relate to the first four steps and reflect on their journey of knowledge. In this stage, people understand the hardships in this remarkable journey and can empathize with people in the other stages. These people are the ones to provide guidance and help others achieve a greater understanding of knowledge. For example, this could be a mentor or a teacher, someone who has gone through this quest for knowledge themselves and is now assisting others. Then boy on the bike who has now acquired this skill has started to teach others how to ride a bike. This last stage is only a theory and hasn’t been added into the Four Stages of Competence yet.
Now, the big question is, how can I improve competency? This can be different for different people. Some steps that can be taken are associating oneself with the people they admire, the type of people that they want to become. There is a saying that goes, “You are what your friends are.” This holds true because friends can influence someone in ways that they might not even realize.
Learn from failures. When someone keeps in mind the mistakes that they have made, they can then go out of their way to make sure they don’t ever make the same inaccuracy again.
Wait for nothing.
Don’t wait for the New Years, the holidays, the weekends to decide to change. Change starts now. Every day is a new beginning, so treat it as such. A new mindset is what motivates one to start fresh, so don’t wait for a milestone to pass before finding the determination to do so. Once someone has achieved a new mindset, they can find the inspiration to learn.
These are only three ways of improving competence, as there are many more. Regardless of where one is in this expedition, they should remember that we are all trying to reach that last stage and being aware of the Four Stages of Competence can help us reach our goals. Finding a personalized way of improving competence can speed up this journey so objectives can be reached faster.
Unfortunately, many people are still in the first stage of learning. Accepting one’s flaws is one of the hardest things to do, and sometimes instead of accepting human imperfections, we put blame on someone else’s shoulders. We all have things that we don’t know. Nobody is perfect. If we all choose to reject our flaws, then we’ll never learn anything. No matter what you do, don’t stop learning. As Steve Jobs once said, “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”
Bibliography
Gordon Training International by its employee Noel Burch in the 1970s
stagesofcompetence.pdf (mccc.edu)
Zainab Zaki Jan 26, 2017. The Four Stages of Competence
The Four Stages Of Competence. There are four stages of developing… | by Zainab Zaki | Medium
6 Ways to Improve Competency 2020-2022 David Horsager
6 Ways to Improve Competency – David Horsager
The Four Stages of Learning By Sarah Lugo|September 30th, 2014
The Four Stages of Learning - Knowledge Direct Learning Management System (kdplatform.com)
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