Unconscious Competence

In my work with leaders, our goal is always to develop unconscious competence in those key skills and behaviors that lead to both personal and organizational success. Unconscious competence simply means doing the things that make us most effective and productive in a natural, automatic, and subconscious manner.

Most of what we do each day is actually done subconsciously, out of habit and routine. Habits are they way that our body and mind conserves energy. Imagine a day where you had to think and make a conscious decision about everything that you did. You would be totally exhausted by the end of the day.

Each of us has habits that are probably negatively impacting the success we want to achieve. It takes introspection and a lot of self examination to identify these habits and eliminate them. There are also habits we need to have that are not natural right now. Habits are formed through repetition - doing the right thing in the right way over and over again until it becomes natural.

For example, a large percentage of the population does not have written personal goals. This first time that I take someone through a personal goal setting process, it is very awkward and uncomfortable. Only by doing it repeatedly over time, will it become natural and comfortable.

Take a look at yourself. What habits to yo have that are holding you back? What habits do you need to create to become more effective?

Golf Lesson

Excelling in golf is about repetition. Good golfers are simply more consistent than poor golfers. I am always amazed when I play with someone who says they only play a few times a year, then get upset at all of the bad shots they hit.

If you watch a professional golfer, they all have what is called a pre-shot routine. The purpose of this is to take as much of the conscious mind out of a golf shot as possible, and let the unconscious competence take over. They develop good swing habits by practicing the same thing over and over again.

Most amateur golfers make the mistake of thinking too much while on the course. The place to think and tinker with a swing is on the practice range. And even this should be kept to a minimum, Most teaching pros recommend spending about 10% practice time making conscious thoughts about your swing, the other 90% just hitting the ball.