Moving from Plateau to Grow
Recognise the Stuck & Provide the Knowledge
So many times I’ve heard “just do it long enough and it’ll come.”
In the best case, the “coming” takes a very long time, and in the worst case it takes almost forever.
After addressing the the problem with overemphasizing knowledge, I want to take a harder look at the problem with overemphasizing proficiency.
Emphasizing knowledge will run into the limit of insufficient grounded experience to make the next mental leap.
Emphasizing proficiency will run into the limit of entrenched habits without the metacognition to challenge them.
This entrenched habit limitation is like getting stuck on a plateau. But how do we know when we are processing new information and practicing, and how do we know when habits are becoming entrenched? There are some helpful warning flags!
In this infographic, we first see the Stage, which represents Gery’s Proficiency Taxonomy that I later extended.
The Competence Gained represents a simplified but key expectation for how a person at each stage can demonstrate that competence on the job.
Let’s walk through the insights that I’m providing, which are the Stuck Signals and Knowledge Needed.
Familiarity Stage
Learners who are stuck on this stage are unable to see where the concept could apply in their work. This results in the classic “I’ll try that another time, but I have real work to do right now”. The cure for this is to expose them to mental models that allows them to match their current problems. Anything serving as a visual concept map is a useful way to execute that.
Comprehension Stage
Learners who are stuck on this stage are unable to see how to apply the model without specific guidance. This results in their attempts to change the work to fit the solution they’ve been taught. The cure for this is to exposure to concrete action steps and small variations where the solution is not a perfect fit. They need to see where it does and does not do well. Demos and simple recipe variations are useful ways to execute that.
Conscious Effort Stage
Learners who are stuck on this stage have fallen into a habit where success is defined by their accomplishments. This results in adequate performance with no clear drive to change. They may perform whatever continous improvement cycle is required of them, but it rarely results in impactful change. The cure for this is to specifically coach them towards where and why actions would be taken, focusing on context. Ensemble and individual coaching are useful ways to see room for improvement.
Plateauing at this stage can be especially frustrating, and result in giving up on the skill all together. It takes both knowledge and practice to help them break through higher levels of competency.
Conscious Action Stage
Learners who are stuck on this stage are able to succeed in problem domains, but have to reinvent each time. This results in feeling burned out on the perceived toil. The cure for this is to more widely expand your horizons in order to provide more options in the success formulas. Conferences, communities of practice, and reading are all useful ways to execute that.
Proficient Stage
Getting stuck on the proficient stage is a bit of a misnomer. People don’t seek unconscious competence. As one continues to improve their competency within this stage, it is easier and easier to inspect and adapt. There are times where there can be frustration to simplify because there are so many variables in the brain to consider. They are missing knowledge systems to help them sift through the complexity to find the fewer things that matter. Mentoring others is a useful way to get to that distillation.
Unconscious Competence
This stage is usually where thought leaders are pushing the boundaries of what they understand. This isn’t so much of a stuck issue as a continuous reinvention.
Come to my webinar on Meeting People’s Skills Where They Are At to learn how to recognize and diagnose competency levels!