The Expat Life: The 5th Stage Of Competence

Posted on 24. Feb, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Expat Life, Tools & Resources
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Writing about the Four Stages of Competence last week, I suddenly remembered that I never did post about the Fifth Stage, as promised back in November. Oops.

[Go ahead. Insert all sorts of (well-deserved) jokes about my being a coach and still procrastinating/forgetting to do things… and maybe you will see why I have my own coach who keeps me accountable!]

So. A little refresher on the different stages of competence:

– Stage 1: You do not know how to do something and you are not even aware of it, because that thing is not on your radar, or it is not relevant to your life.
– Stage 2: You are now aware that you do not know how to do that thing. You recognise that you lack that specific skill or knowledge, even though you are not trying your hand at it yet.
– Stage 3: You have now learned that new skill, even though using it takes quite a bit of effort or concentration.
– Stage 4: The new skill has become second nature and does not require much concentration anymore, if any. You have achieved what psychologists call “Unconscious Competence”.

The limit of that model is that Stage 4, Unconscious Competence, is well, unconscious. Sure, for you the new skill has become effortless, but do you know exactly how you learned, applied and practiced it? Would you be able to teach others?

This is the same reason why not all native speakers of a language are able to teach it. It is second nature to them, yet they are not consciously aware of all the rules and inner workings of the language. Therefore, they are not able to properly teach someone else how to achieve the same level of fluency they possess.

In other words, to be able to teach someone, you have to become consciously aware of your competence – this is the Fifth Stage of Competence:

– Stage 5: You are aware of having reached Unconscious Competence. You are able to reflect on your new skill and teach others. This is also a level where you are able to recognise and develop Stages 2 and 3 in others.

This is the stage that teachers, coaches and mentors work from.
I love this level, because this is where you can start giving back.

How could you start giving back? How could you reach out to newcomers and help them along their own learning curve?

I know that “skills you have mastered”, “competence” or “teaching others” may sound pretty big and intimidating.
See if using other words helps: what have you finally figured out, that you wish you had known from the beginning? What are some tips and tricks that only someone who has been here for a while knows? How could you make a fellow expat’s life easier by sharing what you know?

Emmanuelle

Related posts: 4 Stages Of Competence and Good Quote: On Feeling Incompetent