The Four Stages Of Learning

Stage One: Unconscious Incompetence

Characteristics of this stage of learning:

• You don’t know what you don’t know
• Your Morale is High; Your Competence is Low; and Your Attitude is Positive
• You are Excited about the future

We all start out as Unconsciously Incompetent when learning a new skill or launching a new business. We have an exciting goal or challenge. We expect great things. But in this initial stage we are ignorant of what we don’t know.  We don’t know the answers, because we don’t even know the questions yet.

To move to the next stage: Focus on Learning

Stage Two: Conscious Incompetence

Characteristics of this stage of learning:

• You now know what you don’t know
• Your Morale is Low; Your Competence is Low; and Your Attitude is Negative
• You are Pessimistic about the future

In this stage, excitement may turn to fear or discouragement. All of a sudden we discover that learning this new skill is hard work. Or, we fear that our business might fail. We feel inadequate.

It’s time for a reality check.

The key is to make a plan to move into stage three. Pessimism turns to optimism when we have a plan.

To move to the next stage: Focus on planning.

Stage Three: Conscious Competence

Characterized by:

• You know and it shows that you know
• Your Morale is High; Your Competence is High; Your Attitude is Positive
• You are Optimistic and Confident about the future

In this stage, we have learned the new skill.  Or, our business is growing.  It takes concentration and hard work, but we can see the pay off. We are confident that we can do what we set out to do.

To move to the next stage: Focus on Excellence.

Stage Four: Unconscious competence

Characterized by:

• You know you’ve achieved Mastery
• Your Morale is Consistently High; Your Competence is Very High; Your Attitude is Very Positive
• You are Bold and Creating the future you want

In this stage, success seems effortless. You are firing on all cylinders. You feel like you have mastered this new skill. Or, business is humming, almost effortlessly.

You have arrived!

Final Observations:

1. You cannot skip a step in the four stages of learning
2. The steps are a natural progression
3. You can get stuck in step one, two, or three
4. Arriving at step four requires consistent effort, but the reward is worth it