SIDE-BAR ARTICLE

The Four Stages of Learning (Competence)

When making any sort of change in the way we do things, we often need to learn new skills or ways to accomplish these new tasks. Some are easy to learn, and others more challenging. Noel Burch, an employee with Gordon Training International, developed the Conscious Competence Ladder in the 1970s, a four-stage method to track skills accomplishment from incompetence to competence.

These four stages have a lot to do with the way we think, feel and act towards making changes in our lives. These stages, along with a number of other concepts that help individuals move forward and drive changes, will be looked at throughout this program.

The learning to change process has often become more difficult than necessary because of the bad feelings people get when they make mistakes in learning. The bad feelings come from their own judgements like, “I’m not doing it right,” “We’re not good enough,” “I can never learn this,” and so on. Ironically, not doing it right and making mistakes are vital steps in the learning process. Yet too often our attention goes to trying to avoid the bad feelings, rather than to the learning at hand. Understanding the four stages of learning a skill can help keep the learning process focused on learning to do something, and not feeling bad about ourselves for not already knowing how.

These are the four stages, as uncovered by Noel Burch:
1. Unconscious Incompetence
An individual does not know or understand how to do something and may not necessarily recognize the deficit. “I don’t know that I don’t know how to do this.” This is the stage of blissful ignorance before learning begins.
2. Conscious Incompetence
An individual does not understand or know how to do something, but they do recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. “I know that I don’t know how to do this, yet.” This is the most difficult stage, where learning begins, and where the most judgements against self are formed. This is the stage where most people give up.
3. Conscious Competence
An individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. There is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill. “I know that I know how to do this.” This stage of learning is much easier than the second stage, but it is still a bit uncomfortable and self-conscious.
4. Unconscious Competence
An individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become “second nature” and can be performed easily – the actions have become automatic. “What, you say I did something well?” The final stage of learning a skill is when it has become a natural part of us. We don’t need to think about it.

Locus of Control Questionnaire
Before we get started, let’s take a look at where we stand when it comes to our locus of control. Download the Questionnaire, read the directions, and mark the response that best fits the statements, for you today. Then save this file with today’s date in the file name.