Heart Glow CEO™ Podcast Episode by Kc Rossi:
The 4 Stages of Competence Every Heart-Centered Leader Should Know
Kc Rossi 00:00:02
Welcome to Heart Glow CEO™, where high achievers evolve into purpose-driven powerhouses. I'm Kc Rossi, your Integrative Leadership Coach. Join us to break free from people pleasing and burnout, exploring mindset, embodiment, and soul alignment. Discover expert insights, success stories, and actionable tips for wholistic wealth on your terms. This is where transformation meets the modern female leader. Let's go!
We're diving into a transformative journey through the four stages of competence. This framework will illuminate your path to mastery, empowering you as a modern leader with heart. Whether you're leading a team, growing your business, or striving for personal development, understanding these stages will bring clarity and confidence to your journey.
Noel Birch developed the concept of the four stages of competencies in the 1970s, right around when I was born. The model outlines the psychological states involved in the process of progressing from incompetence to competence in a skill. Understanding and applying the four stages of competence helps leaders and entrepreneurs foster a culture of growth, improve individual and team performance, and drive their organizations toward success.
Kc Rossi 00:01:28 Let's take a closer look.
1. STAGE 1 - Unconscious Incompetence
I know these are a little bit of a tongue twister, but once you get the layout for me it helps to either make a little journey of stages one, two, three, four in a linear upward pattern or in a quadrant of four, but whatever helps you. I'm a visual learner, so it helps me understand these four stages when I write them down.
In this initial stage, you are unaware of what you don't know. Think of it as the “blissful ignorance” phase. As heart-centered leaders, it's crucial to recognize this stage without judgment. This is where you can exercise self-compassion and compassion for others when you recognize they are in the stage - so important as a leader. It's a natural starting point for any new endeavor.
You've probably heard the phrases “You don't know until you know,” or “You don't know what you don't know.” And those are the things that I think about during this initial phase. It's important to cultivate curiosity and an open mind.
Kc Rossi 00:02:36 This is where you can embrace your vulnerability and seek out new knowledge. Research shows that embracing a growth mindset. You've heard me talk about that a lot. It significantly enhances learning and performance. According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, “Individuals who believe that abilities can be developed are more likely to thrive in challenging situations.” Make so much sense.
Imagine a successful entrepreneur named Sarah who has built a thriving business with a traditional in-office team. Now, due to rapid expansion and the need to tap into global talent, Sarah has decided to transition her team to a remote work model. However, she has never managed a remote team before and is unaware of the unique challenges and skills required to do so. In this stage, Sarah is unaware of what she doesn't know, and she may be thinking ‘Managing a remote team can't be that different from managing an in-person team.’
Has something similar happened to you? I'm rolling through quite a few examples of when I was in this stage 1; unconscious incompetence.
Kc Rossi 00:03:50 So let's look at some of the challenges that she faced. There were communication breakdowns. Sarah noticed that communication wasn't as fluid as it used to be. There were frequent misunderstandings, delays, and response times, and a general lack of clarity in team communication. There was also a decline in team morale. Team members felt isolated and disconnected, and we know we don't do our best creation when we're working in silos. So there wasn't that camaraderie and teamwork as there used to be with the office environment where they were all together. And then she also observed some productivity issues. There was a drop in productivity and efficiency. There were a few missed deadlines. Team members were struggling with balancing work and personal life, and we know when that imbalance happens, it is a surefire way to burnout and disengagement. So what did she do about it? This recognition and transition to conscious incompetence. This is where Sarah begins to realize that managing a remote team requires different skills and strategies than managing an in-person team. She acknowledged her limitations.
Kc Rossi 00:05:04 She started seeking out information and resources to improve this very specific way of managing a remote team. This is all about a learning path. It is moving beyond unconscious incompetence. And so a few things, if you're finding yourself maybe in that situation right now: Research best practices. There is a plethora of information. It is at our fingertips. All you really need to do is plug it into Google, and you will get some sort of best practices at the ready. If that's not enough, seek training. You can attend workshops and webinars and things that are very focused on this. So this is something where you want to really be thinking in specificity. So for something like this, you don't want to have a general broad training. You want to be very specific to match exactly what you're looking for. You may need to consult an expert who has literally been through exactly what you're looking for. And the other thing is gathering feedback regularly and soliciting feedback from your team to understand their challenges and their needs better.
Kc Rossi 00:06:16 Again, we know that communication works best when it is not a monologue, when it is literally a dialogue, it's a back and forth. You can think of pickleball. It's back and forth, it's giving and receiving. And that really dovetails into that regularly soliciting feedback from the people that you're working with.
A key thing to remember is the gateway from stage one, unconscious incompetence to stage two is awareness.
2. STAGE 2 -Conscious Incompetence
As you progress, you will move into this stage of conscious incompetence. Here you become painfully aware of your limitations. This can be a humbling experience, but it is also incredibly powerful. In this stage, many women leaders face imposter syndrome. Such a big one! Feeling like they don't belong or they aren't good enough. But remember, awareness is the first step to growth.
Trent Shelton says, “You don't have to be perfect to help people. All you have to be is real.”
In this phase, mentorship and coaching are invaluable. Seek out mentors who can guide you and provide constructive feedback.
Kc Rossi 00:07:34 That piece is so crucial because, like I once had a coach say to me, “We cannot see the spinach in our own teeth!”, and that absolutely resonated. So we can go over and over and over a blog post or a launch strategy, but we're not seeing it with the most 100% clear eyes. This is where constructive feedback is so essential.
One of the things here too, and my clients will vouch for this, is celebrating the small wins along the way. So in all of the stages, but I think especially in this conscious incompetent stage, look for ways to engage in continuous learning and for ways to pat yourself on the back, especially if you are a solopreneur. We need to continue to encourage ourselves, and that's going to be really important.
As a heart-centered leader, this is also where empathy comes in. Your ability to understand and share your feelings. I want you to give yourself full permission to not be Wonder Woman. Ask for help. We are not meant to go on this journey alone.
Kc Rossi 00:08:42 Now let's look at an example for this one. Emily is a Holistic Coach growing her wellness business. She's been asked to present at an upcoming industry conference, a task she has little experience with, and feels quite anxious about it.
Now, in this stage, Emily is keenly aware of her lack of public speaking skills. She might even be thinking, I know I need to do more. I know I need to improve in some way, but I'm not exactly sure how to go about this. She can experience nervousness and self-doubt, and she does as the conference approaches. So one of the things is Emily feels anxious every time she even practices her speech. She worries she's going to forget her lines or make mistakes. I'm just going to interject here. I remember when I first kind of broke through that fear of going live and starting to do Facebook Live videos, I was terrified, I just thought, oh my gosh, I'm going to be saying UM, and pause a million times and look completely unprofessional. So these challenges are so common, especially when it comes to public speaking.
Kc Rossi 00:09:49 So if you're finding yourself nodding your head here, like, I know I should be doing reels, but I have no idea what I should be talking about, or I want to incorporate short-form videos into my marketing, but I'm afraid that I'm going to flop on my face. Know that these challenges are completely normal. Nervousness, lack of skill, wondering what your feedback is going to be like, whether it's from your colleagues or people who are going to see the videos. These are all very common, especially in this conscious incompetence state.
Here's the thing. Despite your struggles, just like Emily, you have to take action. She started taking public speaking courses and watching TED Talks to learn from experienced speakers. I recommended this amazing book from Gail Lawson which is called Transformational Speaking. I will put that link in the show notes because that was really such a beautiful way to look at your message as the medicine and the gift that you have for the world. So that's a great resource here.
Kc Rossi 00:10:55 But to continue with the example, this piece, this stage through dedicated effort and practice, Emily began to improve her public speaking skills. And so can you. Even though she was aware of her limitations, she actively works on overcoming them, listening to speakers, listening to different books on the subject on Audible, and this is all gradually moving her out of the stage into stage three, which is conscious competence.
One thing I want to mention here is the gateway from stages 2 to 3 is learning and change.
And the one thing here, change can sometimes feel a little bit uncomfortable. We have this fear of what will our people think? Depending on where you are, even when you're in, in the beginning, you're like, oh my gosh, what are people going to think? But honestly, five, ten years in and you're trying something new, you're still going to have those, oh my gosh, people have all these expectations of me. I have reached a certain level and I really don't want to appear a beginner.
Kc Rossi 00:12:00 This is where you just have to take a breath and realize that everyone begins somewhere. And even when we are growing and achieving, there will be these four stages always. It is part of the process. So take a breath and move along. Acknowledging all of these stages as you progress.
3. STAGE 3 - Conscious Competence
So moving forward, we reach the stage of conscious competence. Here you are aware of what you know and are actively applying your skills. It requires effort and focus, but you are competent in your actions. Helen Hayes says, “The expert in anything was once a beginner.”
In this stage, practice is key.
Malcolm Gladwell popularised the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve mastery in any field. While the exact number of hours can vary, the principle remains the same. Dedicated practice leads to improvement. For heart-centered leaders, this stage is an opportunity to refine your skills and lead by example. Demonstrating dedication and resilience can inspire your team and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Kc Rossi 00:13:20 I think of marketing consistency here. Perhaps when you first started your business, you felt that all you needed to be good at was your skill; the trade. And then quickly realized that you could have the best offering in the world. But if no one knows about you, you could easily fall flat. Enter sales and marketing. Once you realize that unconscious incompetence, you move to the next phase and enroll in a marketing course. Conscious incompetence. And now, on stage three of the process, you are posting daily, writing a weekly newsletter, and putting out a reel or two per week. You are honing your skills, getting the word out about your services, and practicing an evergreen approach to sales to keep that client roster full. Good for you!
The gateway from stages 3 to 4 is mastery and right intuition.
4. STAGE 4 - Unconscious Competence
Finally, we arrive at unconscious competence. This is a stage where your skills become second nature.
Hallelujah!!!
Kc Rossi 00:14:24 You perform tasks effortlessly without conscious thought. It's akin to driving a car or typing on a keyboard without having to think about each action.
Kc Rossi 00:14:34 Your skills have become habits from focus and repetition. What a wonderful place to be.
Now, Albert Schweitzer says “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you're doing, you will be successful.”
At this stage, it's important to remain humble and continue seeking growth opportunities. Even when you've reached a level of unconscious competence, there is always room for innovation and improvement— That is the kaizen way!
As leaders, this is the time to mentor others, sharing your knowledge and helping them navigate their journey through the stages of competence. This not only reinforces your learning but also creates a ripple effect of growth and development within your team, within your organization. It's a beautiful thing.
And if you're listening to this, I know that you're a multi-passionate creator. Once you've hit stage four, unconscious competence, where you can do the thing in your sleep, I guarantee you you'll get bored! Before you do, be ready to keep the fires of passion stoked by learning, growing, improving, and paying it forward.
Kc Rossi 00:15:46 That formula will keep your capacity expanding and your mind interested in your work.
I once heard that a boring business is a profitable business. That may be the case, but it never worked for me. I have to be interested to keep flourishing. I just have to.
I see the gateway from stage four to beyond as being self-driven towards self-actualization.
What about you?
Understanding and navigating the four stages of competence is a powerful tool for heart-centered leaders. It's a journey of self-awareness, growth, and mastery.
Embrace each stage with compassion for yourself and others. Remember, every expert was once a beginner. Celebrate your progress. Seek continuous learning and lead with heart.
Thank you for joining me today on the Heart Glow CEO™ podcast. If you found this episode valuable, please share it with your network and leave a review. Until next time, keep shining and leading with love.
And oh, you can leave the review at www.lovethepodcast.com/brilliance.
Thank you and breathe joy!
