The 5 Levels Of Competence-Related Mindsets

“I can perform adequately and improve if I put my mind to it.”

This mindset may or may not be grounded in reality. This indicates reasonable confidence but sometimes overconfidence. A capable mindset probably feels good but may not translate into high motivation and effect...

An agentic mindset—believing that we have a realistic chance to succeed and can competently apply the four pillars of agency—is the most productive of various competence-related mindsets. These mindsets influence, for better or worse, job performance, careers, and even efforts to...

“I have the skills and freedom to perform well and get even better.”

Being truly empowered is more than a feeling; it requires adequate autonomy, support, resources, and opportunities. Having these empowerment tools at our disposal is not the same as applying them effectiv...

Fully fledged agency requires believing we can achieve our goal and engaging in the following activities:

1. Forethought: deciding to take on a challenge, thinking ahead, setting goals, and making plans.
2. Implementation: taking fi...

In the psychological sense, agency entails a category of beliefs, a mindset. More profoundly, genuine agency includes the strategies and actions that accomplish what we want and bring us what we need.

Feeling that we have agency is nice. But feeling agentic...

”I have the skills and resources I need (or can obtain them), I feel motivated to apply them, and I am acting in ways that will accomplish what is needed.”

Full agency requires enacting all four agency pillars to accomplish your goals.

Someone might feel strong agency in their job but be less sure about their long-term career and helpless about climate change.

We should always remember that beliefs and feelings can change, shifting and fluctuating over time and from challenge to challenge. Changin...

A mindset is a set of beliefs or assumptions—entrepreneurial, capitalist, global, environmental—that guide your perceptions, thoughts, and actions. Fortunately, a belief in one's competence and agency (the highest form of competence) can be learned and developed.

Tw...

“My ability to perform is or soon will be slipping away.”

Examples of declining (technically, decremenral) mindsets include believing that specific physical or mental abilities are declining and not expecting a turnaround, the same outlook regarding technical skills or ene...

Fixed and growth mindsets can influence whether a person will move upward in the hierarchy of competence mindsets shown in the accompanying figure.

The figure above distinguishes 5 mindsets representing different levels of competence, arranged from weakest competence at the...

A declining mindset may or may not be accurate. Sometimes turning around a decline isn’t possible. Or facts and circumstances can improve with concerted effort and practice. Changing your mindset doesn't magically bring about desired changes.

Still, a shift in minds...