Competence

A chosen path to respect

Can you think of anything more insulting than being called 'incompetent'?

It is a brutal term. When regarding one's profession it would be nothing short of offensive to most of us. Yet, competence may need a reframe when it comes to our modern workplace teams and leadership. It may have once referred to the lowest bar of expectation, but in reality I believe it is a higher bar than most of us operate. To collaborate well as a team there are a host of skills many of us are not taught. Yet we are magically meant to be able to apply such skills to the 100's of different and unique interactions we have everyday. To lead a team we are expected to know how to be competent communicators, motivators, mediators, and strategists overnight without any real training or development in these complex skill sets.

Many of us unaware of the disciplines we truly require. An example of this is the idea of leadership in elite sport. Commentators and coaches to this day still talk of captains needing to make the 'big play' or 'grab the game by the scruff of the neck' to show their leadership qualities. It is outdated nonsense we used think at school sports where the best player is picked as the captain. Being the best at kicking a ball does not mean they can shape a culture for all others to be their best. The skills of leadership go well beyond those of being a good player (Why the chosen ones may not be the best leaders, University of Stirling, UK, Jan 2021)

Take emotional intelligence as an example. The modern father of the study, Daniel Goldman is quoted as saying, "After analyzing 181 competence models from 121 organizations worldwide, we found that 67% of the abilities deemed essential for effective performance were emotional competencies. Compared to IQ and expertise, emotional competence mattered twice as much." Many of us may intellectually understand the above statistic but most of the marketplace does not recruit, develop, or reward these competencies in the above ratio. A second point is that very few can define what emotional intelligence actually is. I discuss this topic with groups on a weekly basis and it is rare to hear succinct answers with depth and clarity. And, for good reason - these topics are tough!!!

Lets take an everyday example; ordering a coffee at a cafe. It sounds simple enough. Yet the server needs to use a multitude of systems (processes for ordering, cleaning, organising cutlery, numbering tables, etc) that all need to work and be adhered to by other staff. These systems need to speak to each other and they need to be understood by the server and used proficiently. Our server needs to be able to manage timing, multiple conversations at once with various customers as well as other orders aside to the one in front of them. They need to listen, be present, and make the customer feel heard and cared for. They also need to ensure (or hope) team members around them do their job so the coffee can be delivered on-time and to standard. There is a lot going on and isn't as straight forward as it may seem. It is easy to see why many employers are screaming out that it is "impossible to find good staff!"

Competence is hard to find. It is hard to cultivate and develop. It is also hard to retain. Competence is especially difficult to attain and maintain when it comes to people leadership.

But, why is competence (or a lack of it) so prevalent yet rarely admitted to? Why do we think we are better at our work than we are? And, what can we do about it?

Rush to the bottom

Cheaper, quicker, and faster. All with less investment or resource but at better standards than ever before. This sentiment is driven by external market forces upon most of us and the cut-throat nature of a capitalist system ingrained in our organisational thinking. No stats or studies are required to back up this claim. It is a mentality that has driven us since the "greed is good" era kicked off in the 1970's when the economist Milton Friedmanwrote, "there is one and only one social responsibility of business, to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game". With the pace of life speeding up every year, the cut backs and increased demands are taking their tole. The more we rush the more incompetent our people are becoming. The camel's back may not be broken, but it is creaking and cracking more than any other moment in our lifetime.

Incompetence has bias

When we are not good at something we basically assume we are a little better than we actually are. I like to think I am a better golfer than I am, primarily out of hope but mainly because I am unqualified to make the assessment. This happens to all of us in our professional roles, where under-performers think they are better than they are, while over-performers do the opposite (they believe they are worse than they are). This is due to the psychological phenomenon called the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

In the real world I see this as a self-protection mechanism as it is a scary proposition to be poor at your job. It is simply too scary to face up to. As a side note this highlights the need for high-quality feedback and accountability on a regular and consistent basis in our teams for accurate calibration.

Get in touch with your competence

Being a team member is hard. It takes a whole set of disciplines on top of the content of our daily work. Being a leader of a team is even tougher. There is a seemingly endless pile of responsibility and expectation being loaded on our shoulders. Its time to acknowledge that our jobs are supremely difficult. From waiting tables to building buildings to managing international commercial brands. Whatever your remit, what you are doing is complex. Knowing we are all works-in-progress is a great mental perspective to view one's world from. This is the pathway to what Carol Dweck calls 'the growth mindset'. It also allows us to plot ourselves on the Hierarchy of Competence without bias or ego. An open conversation with yourself or even your team members is healthy and helps us hone a strategy towards real growth for the short, medium, and long term.

Is it possible for us to embrace our incompetence? Can we use this to build a more resilient and robust team? What would happen if our people were truly competent and able to take on dynamic challenges head-on without hesitation or deferment? I think this is an exciting prospect and a real point of difference for those brave enough to seize this opportunity. If we are lucky we may find ourselves and those around us operating with more autonomy and confidence. And a solid respect of self, respect for the work we do, and respect from others will blossom.