Many people fall into the competency trap, which is the assumption that their established principles and mental models, that have served them all these years, will be sufficient in the future too.
They rely on familiar tools, skills and routines, getting into their comfort zone in the false belief that they don’t need to upgrade or change in this increasingly complex and competitive world, where change is the only constant.

The Competency Trap

<ul>
<li>When we overcommit to our core competencies they become our only reality.</li>
<li>We start to see the business world outside with the same internal view that has been harnessed for so many years when we strengthened and relied on the same skills.</li>
<li>We strive hard to attain mastery in our core skills, but forget to incorporate other skills, habits and mental models that are required for us to thrive in the future.</li>
</ul>

When Core Competencies Become Core Rigidities

<ul>
<li>One must continuously learn new alternatives, skills and approaches to work and nurture one’s innovative spirit, becoming a competitor to oneself. </li>
<li>One has to look for gaps, areas of improvement and new market realities.</li>
<li>One must invest time, money, energy and attention towards new methods, techniques and tools that help us innovate, reinvent and upgrade ourselves. </li>
<li>One can take time to analyze one’s life and career, reviewing and reflecting on the strategies that are incorporated to improve oneself.</li>
</ul>

The Importance Of Disrupting Yourself

<h4 dir="ltr">Jun 17·3 min read</h4><figure><img alt="Image for post" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*uhOTOTdSuUaP3qgWLUKB7Q.png" width="680" height="578"><figcaption class="il im eo em en in io aq fw hc hd gn" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Illustration: <a href="https://www.behance.net/johnholcroft" class="be ip iq ir is it" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">John Holcroft</a></figcaption></figure>Does this old management adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” ring a bell?Instead of maintaining an open mind to learn better systems, models, practices, skills and processes of success, many successful and smart people stop questioning their success principles.They get stuck in the same habits, routines and skills. They unwittingly stop considering alternatives and consistently rely on the same successful approach from yesterday.<BLOCKQUOTE>A competency trap is that false belief that your past principles, ideas, mental models will continually lead to future successes and better judgement.</BLOCKQUOTE>It’s a tendency to rely on familiar tools skills or routines without measuring their effectiveness now and in the future.The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200608-what-is-the-competency-trap" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">term</a> was introduced in management literature, but it can be applied in different fields such as business and even in our personal lives.It’s easy to unintentionally fall into the “Competency Trap” — the tendency to gravitate to those things that we do naturally without questioning our assumptions, skills and approach to work.“Competency traps lock us into a particular way of doing things simply because we are already skilled at doing it that way, <a href="https://thesystemsthinker.com/using-success-to-the-successful-to-avoid-competency-traps/" rel="noopener nofollow" dir="ltr">writes</a> Daniel Kim.You can be so good at what you do that you can be blinded by your past successes. Doing something well can often get you stuck in a loop. Instead of growing and evolving, the competency trap can stand in the way of your incremental progress.<BLOCKQUOTE>“When you are successful in a market for a long time, you often begin to believe that your internal view of success is the same as the market’s view. The internal success loop can thus blind you to shifts in the competitive environment that are obvious to less successful players,” argues Kim.</BLOCKQUOTE>When you fall into the competency trap, your core competencies become core rigidities. You focus on strengthening and relying on the same skill over and over again and forget about other equally important skills, work habits and mental models you need to develop to thrive in the future.<BLOCKQUOTE>Overcommitment to your core competences and skills can easily become your weakness.</BLOCKQUOTE>The problem with competency trap is that when change comes — and they always come, it takes us by surprise because we are not prepared to for it.The two consequences of the competency trap are reduced adaptability and missed opportunities — the two things you need to keep evolving as a person.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">What Got You Here Will Not Get You There</h1><BLOCKQUOTE>To avoid the competency trap, disrupt yourself!</BLOCKQUOTE>By continually learning new alternatives, rules, skills and approach to work, you can become your own best competitor.“By nurturing an innovative spirit and continually scanning for new alternatives, you can become your own best competitor. With this mindset, you become the most critical of your own success, continually looking for gaps and areas for improvement,” says Kim.To become even more successful over time, invest a fraction of your time, money, attention in new methods, tools and models that can stand the test of time. Make room for improvement, upgrade or reinvention.<BLOCKQUOTE>Start questioning your underlying assumptions about life, work, career and what it means to be successful.</BLOCKQUOTE>Truly successful people make time to measure their results and follow efficient routines that save time and money. Don’t get trapped in your success by continuing to learn how to do the same thing better.<BLOCKQUOTE>To move forward, look backwards for insights.</BLOCKQUOTE>Take time to analyse your life and career goals and how productive your strategies and actions have been over the month/ quarter or year.A monthly or annual review can help you reflect on what’s working, what you should improve and new trends you can watch out for. Rethink your processes for getting work done and improving yourself.When you look back, check for any patterns in your actions. Watch out for realities and perceptions that are standing in your way of incremental success.In a constantly changing and ambiguous world, previous successes can stand in the way of new opportunities. To thrive in the future, revisit your past performances, adopt a flexible mindset and disrupt yourself — compete with yourself. Your goal should be to make yourself redundant. Keep evolving!

Instead of maintaining an open mind to learn better systems, models, practices, skills and processes of success, many successful and smart people stop questioning their success principles. They get…

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

habits

Habits

problemsolving

Problem Solving

timemanagement

Time Management

Does this old management adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” ring a bell?

Instead of maintaining an open mind to learn better systems, models, practices, skills and processes of success, many successful and smart people stop questioning their success principles.

They get stuck in the same habits, routines and skills. They unwittingly stop considering alternatives and consistently rely on the same successful approach from yesterday.

A competency trap is that false belief that your past principles, ideas, mental models will continually lead to future successes and better judgement.

It’s a tendency to rely on familiar tools skills or routines without measuring their effectiveness now and in the future.

The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200608-what-is-the-competency-trap">term </a>was i ntroduced in management literature, but it can be applied in different fields such as business and even in our personal lives.

It’s easy to unintentionally fall into the “Competency Trap ” — the tendency to gravitate to those things that we do naturally without questioning our assumptions, skills and approach to work.

“Competency traps lock us into a particular way of doing things simply because we are already skilled at doing it that way, <a href="https://thesystemsthinker.com/using-success-to-the-successful-to-avoid-competency-traps/">writes </a>Daniel Kim.

You can be so good at what you do that you can be blinded by your past successes. Doing something well can often get you stuck in a loop. Instead of growing and evolving, the competency trap can stand in the way of your incremental progress.

“When you are successful in a market for a long time, you often begin to believe that your internal view of success is the same as the market’s view. The internal success loop can thus blind you to shifts in the competitive environment that are obvious to less successful players,” argues Kim.

When you fall into the competency trap, your core competencies become core rigidities. You focus on strengthening and relying on the same skill over and over again and forget about other equally important skills, work habits and mental models you need to develop to thrive in the future.

Overcommitment to your core competences and skills can easily become your weakness.

The problem with competency trap is that when change comes — and they always come, it takes us by surprise because we are not prepared to for it.

The two consequences of the competency trap are reduced adaptability and missed opportunities — the two things you need to keep evolving as a person.

To avoid the competency trap, disrupt yourself!

By continually learning new alternatives, rules, skills and approach to work, you can become your own best competitor.

“By nurturing an innovative spirit and continually scanning for new alternatives, you can become your own best competitor. With this mindset, you become the most critical of your own success, continually looking for gaps and areas for improvement,” says Kim.

To become even more successful over time, invest a fraction of your time, money, attention in new methods, tools and models that can stand the test of time. Make room for improvement, upgrade or reinvention.

Start questioning your underlying assumptions about life, work, career and what it means to be successful.

Truly successful people make time to measure their results and follow efficient routines that save time and money. Don’t get trapped in your success by continuing to learn how to do the same thing better.

To move forward, look backwards for insights.

Take time to analyse your life and career goals and how productive your strategies and actions have been over the month/ quarter or year.

A monthly or annual review can help you reflect on what’s working, what you should improve and new trends you can watch out for. Rethink your processes for getting work done and improving yourself.

When you look back, check for any patterns in your actions. Watch out for realities and perceptions that are standing in your way of incremental success.

In a constantly changing and ambiguous world, previous successes can stand in the way of new opportunities. To thrive in the future, revisit your past performances, adopt a flexible mindset and disrupt yourself — compete with yourself. Your goal should be to make yourself redundant. Keep evolving!

The Competency Trap: How Smart People Sabotage Their Careers