Core value · Skill family
Competence
Reliably doing the job well
Also covers Capability
What does competence mean as a core value?
Competence as a core value means being reliably capable at the work you take on, so people can hand you something and trust it will be done properly.
Few things embarrass you more than not being up to the job. If competence is one of your core values, you want people to be able to hand you something and stop worrying about it. Being the best in the field matters less to you than being capable: to know what you’re doing, to do it properly and to do it the same way on a bad day as on a good one. You notice incompetence quickly, including your own.
What does competence look like in practice?
- You learn the basics of a new role properly before suggesting how to change it.
- You say “I don’t know how to do that yet” and then go and find out.
- You check your work against the brief before handing it over.
- You fix the leaking tap yourself because you took the time to learn how.
- You build trust in colleagues from their track record over time.
When is competence overplayed?
Needing to look capable can stop you trying anything new. You avoid roles where you’d be a beginner, find it hard to ask for help, and feel exposed by small mistakes that others shrug off. Frustration with less capable colleagues can leak into how you treat them. The steadier form sees competence as something you keep building, which means tolerating a spell of being bad at things. You could pick one small skill this month that you’re a complete beginner at, and practise it where people can see.
Often confused with
Competence vs Mastery
Mastery is deep expertise built over years in one field. Competence is doing the job well and reliably across whatever it requires, without needing to be the best.
Competence vs Effectiveness
Effectiveness is about getting the right results. Competence is about being able to do the work properly, and a competent person can still be pointed at the wrong goal.
Competence vs Reliability
Reliability is doing what you said you’d do. Competence is being good enough at it that what you deliver is actually right.
Competence vs Professionalism
Professionalism is how you conduct yourself. Competence is whether you can do the work itself, and the two don’t always arrive together.
Questions to sit with
- What have you avoided trying because you’d be a beginner in front of others?
- Which part of your job are you less capable at than people assume, and who knows?
- How do you treat colleagues you consider less competent than you?
More values in Skill
Competence, intelligence and doing things well.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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