Stages of Learning and Flexible Leadership

Here's a video to introduce the concept,  https://youtu.be/9up8dqKUXkA .

 

The stages of learning and flexible leadership.

People typically go through a number of stages of development and competence from absolute beginner to expert when learning a new task or skill. If we can modify our approach to teaching and leading as the person goes through these stages then the experience for them is less likely to be disempowering and more likely to give them a sense that they are getting what they need at each stage towards full competence.

Stage 1. Unconscious incompetence 

is when a person has never done a task before and therefore does not yet know how difficult it might be. Learning to drive is a good example. Most people are not aware of the true difficulty of this task until they begin to try it themselves, similarly learning a musical instrument, a new computer programme or a flying an aircraft are like this. It is usually only when we begin to try a complex skill that we realise how ignorant or inept we truly are.

At stage one a person usually needs to be given clear instruction on what needs to be done and how it should be done to achieve the best result. Clear, direct yet patient teaching and guidance are what is required for the person to feel empowered. The person who does not get clear guidance is like the person who opens a flat pack piece of furniture and finds all the bits but no instructions (or instructions in a foreign language).

When we begin to gain this realisation of our own incompetence we have entered the stage of conscious incompetence; we now realise the complexity of the task and the mountain that has to be climbed in order to gain competence. This usually has a dampening effect on our enthusiasm and over time without assistance can lead to significant frustration and often resignation or just quitting.

So, at stage 1, unconscious incompetence, the leadership style to be used is, telling, directing or teaching.

 

Stage 2. Conscious incompetence. 

At this stage we usually feel our highest level of anxiety and frustration. The task can appear impossible or overwhelming, remember learning to drive or trying to understand algebra or statistics for the first time? We can feel like we may never get beyond the beginner stage and our inner motivation can be telling us that the end result is not worth the effort. This is often the stage where young children (and many adults) give up trying to learn a musical instrument or how to dance or golf or paint.

This giving up is a pity, because if the right approach had been taken, the right guidance given, they might have stayed the course. Unfortunately, too often people describe how their teacher just got stricter and more impatient when they reached this stage. In fact. the teacher himself is just displaying his own frustration and indicating their stage of development in relation to the skill of teaching.

What is needed is patient mentoring, re-teaching and an encouraging voice that shows belief in the learner’s ability to stick with it and learn what has to be learned. The effective teacher, leader, manager or even parent will reinforce (praise) each successful move and gently redirect or reteach each incorrect one.

I saw this with my son’s violin teacher, how he showed patience and a firm resolution so that my son would break through each learning barrier as he learned his instrument. This is no mean task when it comes to the violin as anyone who has experienced the sound of tortured cats/nails on a blackboard that emanates from the young learner’s violin will tell you. This stage is often where the person becomes demotivated and self critical so they often have to be bought back in to the idea of continuing.

So, at stage 2, conscious incompetence, the leadership style to be used is, mentoring, selling, re-directing or re-teaching.

 

Stage 3. Conscious competence. 

As a learner begins to follow the correct steps and judiciously gets the task done, correctly they show progress. In the early stages, however, this is usually achieved in a conscious, attentive manner. Full attention is still required it is not yet automatic and the problems to be solved are not yet totally obvious.

The new driver still has to think about each gear change, the new musician has to focus on each note, the computer programmer checks and rechecks that they wrote the code correctly. This is where the teacher or guide or manager begins slowly to pull away, encouraging the consciously competent learner to go it alone a little at a time. When problems arise the leader asks questions so as to encourage the learner to find their own solutions.

They have broken the back of learning the steps now they just have to practice it again and again and again. In some cases, this comes fairly quickly: maybe learning to cook a simple meal, for example. In other cases, it might take 10,000 hours: learning to become an accomplished orchestral musician, or a skilled pilot. The danger here is that a person becomes dependent on the guide or teacher and doesn’t make the jump to going it alone or becoming self reliant. Often parents can find it hard at this stage to let their children go it alone. However, this dependence will tend to lead to disempowerment.  

It is worth noting that empowerment is not the same as a state of contentment or zero anxiety. Sometimes empowerment can have an anxiety associated with it because it means we are the responsible ones, we are holding the reins and we are outside of our comfort zone, competent but not fully confident. However, good guidance and coaching can serve to ease that anxiety.

So, at stage 3, conscious competence, the leadership style to be used is, coaching, facilitating and encouraging.

 

Stage 4. Unconscious competence. 

When a person has begun to be able to perform a task without having to think about it they are now committing it to procedural, habitual memory. The task is second nature to them and while not easy their skill level now matches the complexity of the task. They now need to be able to really go it alone, starting new similar tasks, adapting the way the task is done, innovating new ways of achieving task results.

At this stage they need to be given autonomy and be allowed to manage themselves, with the teacher or guide only stepping in occasionally to offer a little encouragement and to hone and refine the skills involved.

When using the above it is important to discuss (except maybe in the case of children) each stage with the learner and agree how guidance is given throughout. The more the person feels they are involved in their own development the more empowered they are likely to feel. Many acts of disempowerment could be avoided if just a little more involvement in the process was provided by the person with the knowledge or position power. The manager, teacher or guide should look for regular feedback on their approach and well it is working for the learner, employee or student.

So, at stage 4, unconscious competence, the leadership style to be used is, releasing, enabling, and giving autonomy.