about competences - what is in a word?

What's in a word?

Competencies, talents, skills, behaviors, attitude, knowledge, ... it all feels somewhat related, doesn't it? Without becoming 'definitionists' let us look up what is currently understood by these terms and get some more of the characteristics of competencies on the way. And what better way to find out about terms than good old Wikipedia, the wisdom of the crowd?

This is what wikipedia has to say on competence :

Competence is a standardized requirement for an individual to properly perform a specific job. It encompasses a combination of knowledge, skills and behavior utilized to improve performance. More generally, competence is the state or quality of being adequately or well qualified, having the ability to perform a specific role.

Read with me: it is a requirement to perform. And further we read: to improve performance. Even further: having the ability to perform. That's three times in one definition. We might be onto something here. And indeed: competence is not something with merit on its own. Competence is the road that leads to better performance. In the end, it is about what you DO, not what you are ABLE TO DO. And that is what competences just are: abilities to do. Competencies in a domain are the potential to perform in that domain. No more, no less. If you are competent in something, you are in a state of being able to perform. A competent fireman CAN put out a fire. It doesn't mean he does. But if your house is on fire, you trust a competent fireman can do the job. Actually that's a bad example: when your house is on fire, you'll take anyone's help. Forget it.

As a second remark to the same highlights: performing is something rather active. A competence allows you to DO something. It is the potential to ACT well. Not to just know how to do it, but to actually do it. Not to just be a job title, but live it. Therefore, knowing stuff is NOT a competency. It is a lower level necessity to be able to perform. If you are competent in growing crops, you will need to know something about when to harvest, how to get subsidies, and what are ideal weather conditions. But that knowledge doesn't make you competent on its own. Knowing things is just part of the competence story. We've over-emphasized just knowing stuff it in the last decades, if you ask me. It doesn't end there.

So let's make a deal: when we name a competence domain, let's try to use verbs, not nouns. Try to phrase it as '-ing' like leading, selling, presenting, etc. Let's not phrase it as 'be' something or 'know' something. Those are lower level dimensions of the overall competence (= ability to perform stuff).

Look back at the same definition with other highlights:

Competence is a standardized requirement for an individual to properly perform a specific job. It encompasses a combination of knowledge, skills and behavior utilized to improve performance. More generally, competence is the state or quality of being adequately or well qualified, having the ability to perform a specific role.

Read with me : combination of knowledge, skills and behavior. That trio is something we use a lot in the learning field. We basically teach people knowledge, skills and behavior. Wikipedia has excellent definitions on those too. Read them here , here and here . (Hint: clicking will only work on the e-book version.) I'll give you my definition of the trio by linking them to body parts. Knowledge is what gets into your head. It is the information you need to perform, what you need to know. And that part is over-emphasized if you ask me. Skills is what goes into your hands. It is the things you can do, like using a program or machine. This definition is closer to competence, I admit. For me, skills are lower level, more detailed things you can do like 'use MS Office to make a mailing list' or 'make meeting minutes in a structured way'. Behavior is what goes into your heart. It is what you are. Like being a trustworthy person. I have a French colleague who refers to knowledge, skills and behavior as 'savoir' for knowledge, 'savoir faire' for skills and 'savoir être' for behavior. There is no better language to explain the trio than that. If your French is rusty or limited to 'veux tu coucher avec moi ce soir?' the translation is roughly'know', 'know to do', 'know to be'.

And while we are still on the 'what's in a name' section, I consider competency and talent the same. Use the terms interchangeable. If you must, take out your big marker pen and change the title of the book to 'homo talentus'. It's your copy.

Key points: competencies are the potential to perform in a domain. The are the abilities to DO stuff.