Knowledge and competence

Two pilots are trying to land an airplane. As they touch the ground, one pilot screams, “Pull up! The runway is ending!”

The second pilot swiftly gets the plane back up in the air. They make a big turn and prepare to descend again. But the moment they touch ground, the pilot screams again, “Get the plane up  the runway is ending!!!” This goes on for another round.

On their fourth descent, the first pilot says, “This is so dumb. They built this huge and expensive airport, but made such a short runway.”

“I know,” answers the second pilot, “But look how wide they made it...”

Some people think that by pulling rank, bullying people or throwing their weight around, they can get others to admire them, fear them and follow them. This is so dumb  as dumb as the pilots in the story. Those pilots are certainly not very competent or very know-ledgeable in flying an aircraft.

Competence and knowledge  is there a difference (apart from the spelling, of course)?

Yes, there is. Knowing is not the same as doing. Competence means one has progressed beyond knowing what to do to doing what one knows.

There are four levels of competence:

1. Unconscious Incompetence  You do not know that you do not know.

2. Conscious Incompetence  You know that you do not know.

3. Conscious Competence  You know that you do know.

4. Unconscious Competence  What you know is already automatic with you.

If you want to gain people’s respect, enchant people and inspire them, you need to be knowledgeable in what you do and be competent at it.

I have met people who pretend to be knowledgeable, when in fact what they do is just echo others’ ideas and opinions. They read a book and suddenly become experts at the subject matter. But once you get to know them and work with them, they fall awfully short of expectations.

There are others who may know what they’re talking about but are not really competent at it. They’re the Talkers. They talk a lot. Yakitty-yakitty-yakitty-yak they go, but when it’s time to act on the things they speak oh-so-well of, they do a poor job. That’s why I feel a little awkward when people introduce me as a person who practices what I preach. I’d rather be known as someone who preaches what I’m already practicing.

Two persons were having a conversation. One said, “I don’t think success has gone to her head.” “No, just to her mouth,” the other said.

In a different conversation, a church member boasts, “My pastor is so good, he can talk on any subject for an hour.” A member of a different church responded, “That’s nothing! My pastor can talk for an hour without a subject!”

Don’t just talk without knowing. And don’t just know without being competent at it.

Learn. Do. Act. Correct. Be humble and speak less. You make less mistakes that way. But when you do open your mouth, speak of what you know and you’re competent at. People will not only listen to you  they will believe you.

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