If you suffer from imposter syndrome, and who doesn’t (!), then this is a great post by Sahil Bloom – ‘The Hierarchy of Competence, Paradox of Trust, & More‘.
In the post Sahil sets out ‘The Hierarchy of Competence‘ – a concept called the “Four Stages of Competence“, that includes:
- Unconscious Incompetence: At the first stage, we are a complete novice and are thus unaware of our own incompetence. We lack competence but also lack an understanding of our incompetence (or how to work out of it).
- Conscious Incompetence: At the second stage, we have developed an awareness of our own incompetence at the craft, but have not addressed or fixed this incompetence. The simple awareness that it is something to be fixed is the point of progress.
- Conscious Competence: At the third stage, we have developed a level of competence at the craft, but executing requires conscious effort and focus. Our competence requires effortful execution at this stage.
- Unconscious Competence: At the fourth stage, we have extreme competence at a craft that is executed without conscious effort. At this stage, we have reached the pinnacle of expertise. Note: Very few will ever achieve this.
So if you are suffering imposter syndrome, the trick is to move from Stage 2 to 3!
Enjoy the day!
Random Thoughts On The Business Of Law 