Manager’s Toolkit
The Learning Ladder
Taking on Something New
Undertaking a new task or adopting a new role has been likened to climbing a ladder.
To coach effectively you need to be aware of these steps, and the impact they may
have on your team member.
First Rung of the Ladder
When we tackle something new, we generally do not appreciate what is involved in doing it –
things generally look easier than we imagine. At this stage we are incompetent at performing the
task: we simply cannot do it. Worse still, we don’t know how much we don’t know. So in a nutshell
we are unconsciously incompetent.
Second Rung of the Ladder
The next stage is conscious incompetence. Having decided to start a venture, we begin to grasp
new skills, ideas or concepts. At this stage we are still incompetent, but we become aware of how
little we know, and what the journey ahead may entail. So we progress into the conscious
incompetence stage.
Third Rung of the Ladder
The next stage we progress through is conscious competence. Although we now may be able to
carry out the task, we have to do it step by step and apparently with a lot of concentrated effort.
This stage lasts for varying amounts of time – for some people in some situations it may pass
quickly, whereas for others it may take a little longer.
Top Rung of the ladder
Finally, all the hard work at the earlier stages starts to pay off and you move into being able to
perform a task with little conscious thought or effort. After a period of time, and almost without
knowing it, you are delivering the required performance standard consistently and with
confidence. You have reached unconscious competence.
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Applying the Learning Ladder
Understanding the learning ladder is all very well, but how can it help you when you are
coaching? If you can explore the feelings people experience at the different steps, you will begin
to see how you can help your team members to climb the ladder successfully.
Unconscious Incompetence
Starting with unconscious incompetence, people may feel blissfully unaware, complacent or
quietly confident. They may be saying to themselves ‘It won’t affect/worry me!’ or ‘I can do it
easily!’ As a coach you must help people through these feelings in a positive way, so you may
have to:

Provide opportunities for people to realise themselves what is involved

Break people in gently

Let people assess the situation for themselves

Allow them to talk with others who have already tried it themselves.
Conscious Incompetence
As people try the new challenge or task themselves, they move into the conscious incompetence
state, and begin to experience some of the following feelings or emotions.

Frustration: ‘Why can’t I do this?’

Inadequacy: ‘I’ll never do this!’

Denial: ‘I never wanted to do this anyway!’

Challenge: ‘I’m not going to let this defeat me!’

Realisation: ‘There’s more to this than I ever realised!’
As you can imagine, this is a critical moment. If people feel overwhelmed by their initial failures
and they do not get the right support, they may well walk away from the situation, convinced that
they will never, ever be able to acquire the new skills or abilities. You must ensure that you allow
time and/or opportunity to coax people positively through this critical stage of the learning
process. Some key guidelines to bear in mind are:

Give people reassurance that they will be able to do it.

Stress that their reaction is perfectly normal.

Be patient and offer guidance as appropriate.

Ask people to reflect on how they have tackled new situations in the past.

Encourage those who look as though they might give up.
Conscious Competence
Given the right support and encouragement, people struggle through to the conscious
competence state and slowly begin to develop the skills and abilities required of them. The pace
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people move through this phase depends very much on the individual – some racing through
while others need more time. The feelings generally associated with the conscious competence
stage are:

Relief: ‘So I can actually do it!’

Frustration: ‘I can do it – but why am I so slow?’

Doubt: ‘Will I ever be able to perform at the required speed or quality?’

Satisfaction: ‘After all my hard work I have got there.’

Realisation: ‘I never realised there was so much to it.’
To allow people to move through this phase successfully you may have to do some of the
following:

Praise success.

Encourage those who are feeling that they still have a long way to go.

Reassure people who doubt their ability to reach required standards.

Gently but firmly coach the cocky ones who think they know it all.

Patiently help people to gradually improve their ability to the required standards.
Unconscious Competence
Finally, people reach the unconscious competence state and a new set of feelings abound,
including:

Achievement: ‘It’s taken some while but I’ve finally reached it!’

Smugness: ‘I always know I could do it. What was all the fuss about?’

Satisfaction: ‘How good it feels to be able to do it.’

Complacency: ‘I can just cruise now.’

Laziness: ‘How can I cut corners and achieve the same result?’

Thoughtful: ‘How can we make it easier for others learning how to do this?’

Confidence: ‘What’s next?’
Snakes and Ladders
Now you can visualise the four rungs of the learning ladder, imagine a snake running down from
the top rung (unconscious competence) to the lowest rung (unconscious incompetence).
Remember Snakes and ladders? How easy it is to slide quickly from the top rung to the lowest one.
How? There are at least two ways:

You become complacent and, without realising it, take short cuts which steadily reduce the
quality of actions or decisions.

While you may continue to perform consistently, the world around you changes continuously
– and if you do not change the way you do things, you will be left behind.
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You must be constantly aware of the need to give people the right support at this stage,
especially because you want them to continue to perform at the new level. So you might have to:

Praise the successful.

Cautiously guide those cutting corners or taking shortcuts.

Encourage those who found it a struggle.

Remind the complacent of the changing world.

Stimulate and challenge those who see the wider picture.

Engender a sense of continuous improvement.
Over to You
How can you apply the ‘learning ladder’ model when you’re coaching your team?
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