Consciously incompetent

Many experienced diversity and inclusion practitioners say that, in learning to be inclusive, people need to go from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence to conscious competence to unconscious competence (Howell, 1982 Tung, 1993). This process parallels similar models used regarding results and method of achievement, challenge and support, tasks and relationships, information known to self and known to others, and so on. From a practical standpoint, this means practitioners must... 

Conscious incompetence You realize you don t have adequate knowledge. 

Of course self-directed behavior is not always desirable. When we take a short cut, for example, we intentionally choose to ignore a safety precaution to perform more efficiently or with more comfort or convenience. In this state, people are consciously incompetent. Attempts to change self-directed behavior from incompetent to competent is often difficult, because it usually requires a relevant change in personal motivation. 

Changing risky self-directed behavior (when the person is consciously incompetent) to safe self-directed behavior. 

When people know what to do and don t do it, a motivational intervention is needed. In other words, when people are consciously incompetent about safety-related behavior, they require some external encouragement or pressure to change. Instruction alone is obviously insufficient because they knowingly do the wrong thing. In safety we refer to this as taking a calculated risk. 

We usually take calculated risks or shortcuts because we perceive the positive consequences of the at-risk behavior to be more powerful than the negative consequences. This is because the positive consequences of comfort, convenience, and efficiency are immediate and certain, while the negative consequences of at-risk behavior (such as an injury) are improbable and seem remote. Furthermore, the safe alternative is relatively inconvenient, uncomfortable, or inefficient—negative consequences that are both immediate and certain. As a result, we often need to add both activators and consequences to the situation to move people from conscious incompetence to conscious competence. 

Motivational intervention is clearly the most challenging, requiring enough external influence to get the target behavior started without triggering a desire to assert personal freedom. Remember the objective is to motivate a transition from conscious incompetence to a self-directed state of conscious competence. Powerful external consequences might improve behavior only temporarily, as long as the behavioral intervention is in place. Hence the individual is consciously competent, but the excessive outside control makes the behavior entirely other-directed. Excessive control on the outside of people can limit the amount of control or self-direction they develop on the inside. 

Figure 5.1 reviews this intervention information by depicting relationships between four competency states (unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and unconscious competence) and four intervention approaches (instructional intervention, motivational intervention, supportive intervention, and self-management). When people are tmaware of the safe work practice (i.e., they are unconsciously incompetent), they need repeated instructional intervention until they understand what to do. Then, as depicted at the far left of Figure 5.1, the critical question is whether they perform the desired behavior. If they do, the question of behavioral fluency is relevant. A fluent response becomes a habit or part of a regular routine, and thus the individual is unconsciously competent. 

When workers know how to perform a task safely but don t, they are considered consciously incompetent or irresponsible. This is when an external motivational intervention can be useful, as discussed earlier. Then when the desired behavior occurs at least once, supportive intervention is needed to get the behavior to a fluent state. 

Unconscious Incompetence "bad habits" Conscious Incompetence "learning"... 

In the mid-1970s, 1 learned well the statistics that justify the use of vehicle safety belts on every trip. In fact, 1 actually taught the value of using safety belts in my safety workshops at the time. However, the popular quote "Do as 1 say, not as 1 do," applied to me. Even though 1 knew the value of safety-belt use, 1 still did not buckle up on every trip. 1 was "consciously incompetent" with regard to this safe behavior. 

At what stage of habit formation are you when you get in the back seat of someone else s vehicle, like a taxi cab It is possible to be "unconsciously competent" in some situations but be "consciously competent" or "consciously incompetent" in another situation for the same behavior. For example, wearing safety glasses, ear plugs, and steel-toed shoes might be a safe habit on the job, but which of these safe behaviors are followed when mowing the lawn in your backyard ... 

A DO IT process could increase our use of personal protective equipment at home as well as at work. First, we need to accept the fact that we can all be xmconsciously or consciously incompetent with regard to some behaviors. Next, we need to xmderstand the necessity of behavioral feedback to improve our performance. Then, we need others in our family or work team to observe us with a CBC and then share their findings as actively caring feedback. 

Motivational intervention is clearly the most challenging, requiring enough external influence to get the target behavior started without triggering a desire to assert personal freedom. Remember the objective is to motivate a transition from conscious incompetence to a self-directed state of conscious competence. 

Education and training reflect an instructional approach to corrective action. This type of intervention is obviously most effective when the participants are willing to learn. They are xmaware of the correct procedures and are "xmconsciously incompetent." Instruction will not help much for people who know what to do but do not do it. These individuals are "consciously incompetent" and need a motivational intervention, as discussed later in Chapter 12. 

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