I like to see upskilling by stages to make the task less daunting.

Four Stages of Competence

There is a famous framework known as “The Four Stages of Competence” used to describe the psychological stages of learning a specific topic. Those are:

1. Unconscious Incompetence: This is the first stage where you don’t know what you don’t know. You are not aware of the skill and your lack of proficiency.
2. Conscious Incompetence: At this stage, you are aware of the skill that you don’t possess and your lack of proficiency in it. You recognize what you don’t know.
3. Conscious Competence: Here, you know how to use the skill but require concentration and effort to perform it. The skill is not yet second nature or automatic.
4. Unconscious Competence: At this final stage, you have practiced the skill so much that it has become “second nature,” and you can perform it with ease and without conscious effort.

Enabler Level

There is a fifth level that extends beyond these four, and it’s what I call the Enabler Level. At this stage, you are not just competent yourself, but you have the ability to teach and enable others to reach competence.

The enabler level is characterized by:

• Deep understanding: You understand not just the “how,” but the “why” and the “why not.”
• Pattern recognition: You can see patterns across different contexts and apply knowledge flexibly.
• Teaching ability: You can break down complex concepts into understandable pieces for others.
• Mentorship: You can guide others through the stages of competence efficiently.
• Problem-solving: You can adapt solutions to fit different contexts and constraints.

Why It Matters

Most people aim for unconscious competence and stop there. But in teams, organizations, and communities, the enabler level is what creates value multiplication. One enabler can bring many people from incompetence to competence.

In engineering, this is especially valuable. A senior engineer who can only code is useful. But a senior engineer who can teach junior engineers, design systems for others to maintain, and mentor across teams — that’s an enabler, and their impact is exponentially greater.

How to Reach It

1. Go beyond mastery: Don’t stop at unconscious competence. Ask yourself how you would teach this to someone else.
2. Teach: Actively mentor, write documentation, create courses, or simply explain concepts to peers.
3. Reflect: Understand not just what works, but why it works and when it doesn’t.
4. Adapt: Learn to explain the same concept in different ways for different learners.
5. Stay humble: The enabler level requires continuous learning because you’re now responsible for the growth of others.

Conclusion

Reaching the enabler level is a choice. It requires effort beyond personal mastery, but the returns are incomparable. You shift from being a skilled individual to being a force multiplier in your organization or community.