In this first stage of competence, you are set to do something new, however you are not aware of what is happening or you don’t know where to start. That is called unconscious incompetence.

In this second level of competence, you are aware of what you are supposed to be doing but you also acknowledge that you are not skillful or knowledgeable enough to do that activity or task. So, this is called Conscious Incompetence.

In this third level of competence, you know what you are supposed to be doing, but you are very cautious of your thoughts and your actions. You have started doing things with diligence.

In this final level of competence, you are already doing things as if they are a second nature to you. Through practice, you get to perform these activities or tasks or whatever you are supposed to effortlessly. It is also at this stage, that you are able to teach this skill to somebody else.

Related to the four stages of competence, as a leader, you can practice active telling or active listening. When you are active telling you don’t attempt to understand another perspective. You don’t ask questions like “What are their thoughts? What's happening? What's the context? What's the background that they might not be familiar with.”

You are a leader who is actively listening if you ask questions first, then listen before you talk. Try first at least five questions or prompts before you discuss next steps. Through this approach you want them to draw conclusions on their own and think through their responses. This takes a lot of practice. Through constant practice anyone can create unconscious competence for active listening.