The New Age of REason

The progression is from quadrant 1 through 2 and 3 to 4. It is not possible to jump stages. For some skills, especially advanced ones, people can regress to previous stages, particularly from 4 to 3, or from 3 to 2, if they fail to practise and exercise their new skills. A person regressing from 4, back through 3, to 2, will need to develop again through 3 to achieve stage 4 - unconscious competence again.

For certain skills in certain roles stage 3 conscious competence is perfectly adequate.

Progression from stage to stage is often accompanied by a feeling of awakening - 'the penny drops' - things 'click' into place for the learner - the person feels like they've made a big step forward, which of course they have.

There are other representations of the conscious competence model. Ladders and staircase diagrams are popular, which probably stem from the Gordon Training organisation's interpretations.

Certain brain (personality) types favour certain skills (see for example the Benziger theory). We each possess natural strengths and preferences. We each therefore find progression to stage 3, and particularly to stage 4, easier in some skills rather than in others. Some people will resist progression even to stage 2, because they refuse to acknowledge or accept the relevance and benefit of a particular skill or ability. In these cases it's obviously not too clever to attempt to progress the person to stage 3. Instead find the person a more suitable role, or allow an adapted approach to the current role if appropriate and viable.

People develop competence only after they recognise the relevance of their own incompetence in the skill concerned.