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Jason Wetzler

The Four Stages of Mastering a New Skill

I was beyond excited when my best buddy Mitch decided to give CrossFit a try. "One of us, one of us, one of us..." I silently chanted to myself as he signed the waiver to be able to participate in his first class.

It's a chilly spring day and the class workout consists of some back squats, lunges, and double-unders. I couldn't think of a better first class for Mitch to start. Having already completed two Iron Man's, I was confident he would pick it right up.


He had the lunges down right away and managed the back squats with a pointer or two from people in class, but then gave the double-unders a try and it was, to say the least, a struggle. To complete one double-under, the jump rope must go under your feet two times for every one jump off the floor. On paper it sounds easy, in practice it can be a different story.


Mitch hadn't tried a double-under at that point in his life so when I asked him if he had it he nodded confidently. After a few minutes of attempting and whipping himself in the back of the calves, I walk over to give him some pointers. Then, someone notices me trying to help and comes over to offer the advice that helped them get double-unders the first time. Pretty soon we have four to six people offering tips and tricks to Mitch. He was a good sport about it, but it's clear we are overwhelming him. Over the next few weeks Mitch practiced his double-unders nearly everyday and we began to see him traverse what we know as the Conscious Competence Ladder.


The Conscious Competence Ladder was created by the Gordon Training Institute in the 1970's and offers us a tangible way to view skill development. It portends that there are four steps that every person will go through when learning a new skills.


Unconsciously Incompetent - we don't know that we don't know.

Consciously Incompetent - we know that we don't know.

Consciously Competent - we know that we know.

Unconsciously Competent - we don't know that we know.


When agreeing to sign up for CrossFit, Mitch didn't know that he needed to know double-unders. He moved from unconscious incompetence to conscious competence in that first class. For most people in any skill development, this will be the fastest transition.


For learners, this model can be a motivating reminder that everyone has been at that stage before and that the goal is to get so good you don't have to think about it. For teachers, this can help us scale skill development appropriately and not overwhelm the learner from the start.


Learning a new skill takes time, effort, and courage. Sometimes we just have to be reminded that if we are on the ladder at all we are far and beyond most people. Now, you just have to keep climbing.


Fact

Simone Biles has five signature moves named after her in gymnastics. It's safe to say she is unconsciously competent in gymnastics.


Action

Ask someone who has mastered a skill you want to progress in what they did to develop it.


Question

What skill are you unconsciously incompetent in, but you would like to progress?

(Hint- even answering this question moves you along)


Quote

"I watched Keith Harring, you see I study art


The greats weren't great because at birth they could paint


The greats were great 'cause they paint a lot"


-Macklemore & Ryan Lewis; Ten Thousand Hours




P.S.

Mitch's personal best for unbroken double-unders is 39.

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