How we fool ourselves. It’s not a question, it’s an observation. Each of us has a sense of our own competence. And, we have a version we keep tucked inside and a version we portray to the world. Woe to the person whose versions get too far apart.
Others can listen to your version of competence and in short order observe the difference in your story and reality. They may accept a slight space of difference, chalk it up to braggadocios. Or are willing to keep quiet about the distortion as a quid pro quo to their own sense of exaggerated competence.
The competent individual knows exactly what they are capable of and where they underperform or fail. The competent individual needs no distortion because their underperformance is not permanent. Each day, they make moves toward mastery, inch by inch, with a firm grasp of capability in hand, a fixed vision of the goal and the willingness to proceed in the face of failure. The competent individual, most importantly, possesses the competence of learning.
The competent organization, most importantly, possesses the competence of a learning organization.
There is a lot to unpack here, at least for me.
First, I was reminded of Lee Thayer’s statement, “Most/many people misinterpret the reasons for their success and failures.” Does this apply to competence?”
Where does competence in a “role” fit into this? Are we all incompetent in some things? Can competence in one role mislead us into roles where we are not competent? What competencies do we need to do the work? When I read and hear you discuss the framework of “Requisite Organization” it makes so much sense to me. The question arises, though, why it isn’t more widely adopted? Or is it adopted under different language or framework ala Navy Seals teams?