What does incompetence look like?
It’s one of those questions that seems simple – until you try to answer it. It brings to mind the memorable comment made by Potter Stewart, then an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, regarding pornography; Justice Stewart said he couldn’t define it, but he knew it when he saw it.
We might have trouble defining incompetence verbally, but we’ve all seen it. Individuals whose attitudes are as bad as their basic skills are lacking can disrupt workflow, hinder success – and, worse yet, poison an entire workplace.
Competence is at a premium in any workplace. Here are some tips on how to be that individual your colleagues respect and look to for competent leadership:
• Work with your heart: When you genuinely care about a project with your whole heart, the results will doubtless reflect that. Keep that goal in mind and be mindful as to how your particular skills can help others on your team surmount challenges. To be committed is to be competent.
• Know what you don’t know: There are no dumb questions. What you can’t do is think that asking a question demonstrates a lack of competence – in fact, just the opposite is true. To ask for help not only prevents mistakes, demonstrates confidence and courage.
• Forget perfection: You’ll never be perfect, nor will even the finest project produced by you and/or your team. What you can be is excellent – working to the best of your ability on a given day. If you’ve done your best, you can rest – and allow yourself a measure of pride – in that knowledge.
• Manage your time: Should you and your team have more than one project due in a specific time frame, don’t try to handle both at the same time – splitting your resources might get those projects done ahead of deadline, but it’s likely that neither will represent your best work. Managing your time means sharpening your focus – and then shifting that focus to the next thing.
• Do not cheat: What happens to the bad guys at the end of almost every police show? They get caught. You might not get caught the first time you cut a corner. You might even get away with cheating more than once. But you will, at some point, get caught – and that’s when your past transgressions will come to harsh, unforgiving light. It might be harder in a given situation to do it right, but it’s always – always – better.
• Communicate clearly: Don’t try to dazzle your colleagues with your command of the language. To be plain is to avoid misunderstandings and the resulting, inevitable confusion. If you’re not sure what someone means, ask. And reflective listening is a great technique – if you’re not sure of something that was just said to you, paraphrase it back to the speaker.
• Get better: To achieve and enjoy success, you should continually expand your sphere of competence – if your company offers training, take it. Make new professional connections, both inside and outside your specific field, because you never know what’s coming down the line.
• Accept responsibility: It’s said that victory has a thousand fathers, but failure is an orphan. The easiest thing in the world is to take credit for a win (though you should be very sure to include teammates, if appropriate – sharing a win with teammates is better than an individual win). By contrast, it’s tough – very tough, sometimes – to take responsibility for a failure. Even in the face of your setback, though, a competent boss will appreciate that you took the bullet. And here’s a bonus – you’ll be better from that point forward.
• Be a good listener: There’s a huge difference between listening to someone and merely waiting for them to stop talking. A good listener will be less likely to make a mistake, and a boss who’s a good listener will invite honest feedback because he or she is unafraid of actually hearing it. And listening involves not only hearing, but gauging body language and tone as well. A cardinal rule of good listening – never interrupt.
• Find joy in the success of others: Anyone who’s ever been part of a team understands the satisfaction that comes from being part of something bigger than oneself. Continually encourage the members of your team. Mentor someone who’s just coming up. And just as you’d correct someone who makes a mistake, be just as quick to compliment a teammate on a job well done. Contributing to the success of others will stand as a hallmark of your own.
