Competence convinces through words, deeds, and the feasibility of what is said.
Competence doesn’t require big words. When words and actions match and what is announced is feasible, people trust a person – with or without a leadership role.
The quality in detail
Four steps through the quality: understand, check, connect, apply. Open any topic to read more.
The core messageWhat the quality means – and what it doesn’t
Competence shows when your words, your actions, and what you announce fit together and can be carried out. That is how people judge whether to entrust themselves to you.
- It does not mean
- That you have to be the best at everything yourself. Leading competently also means involving the right people and preparing well.
- That big words prove competence. What counts is whether your commitments are realistic and whether you keep them.
- Strictly speaking
- What is established is that supervisors’ expertise matters; the link between intelligence and leadership, however, is weaker than often assumed. Competence alone does not yet make good leadership.
- People respond to perceived competence, and it can differ from actual competence. Confident behavior is easily mistaken for skill – judge yourself by results, not by impressions.
- Applies to
- Every responsibility: at work in specialist tasks and projects, in church and clubs in organization and finances, in the family in running the household and planning, in your own life in handling time and money.
The explanationPeople admire competent people – whether craftsmen, world-class athletes, or successful entrepreneurs.
People admire competent people – whether craftsmen, world-class athletes, or successful entrepreneurs.
What counts is what they actually experience: confident self-presentation can pass for competence for a while, but it only lasts if results follow.
Competence also shows in thinking ahead: competent people recognize early what a task requires, prepare for what is coming, and build their abilities with every new role – from a first specialist task to leading an entire organization.
The signs3 signs the quality is present · 3 that it is missing
- What you commit to in a meeting is done by the agreed date.
- Before you announce something – a project, a goal for your area, or a strategy – you check whether it is feasible with the resources available.
- You keep learning – in your field and in what your current role demands – and say openly where your knowledge ends.
- Your plans sound convincing but regularly fail in execution.
- Others have to rework what you did or fill gaps you left open.
- You cover up uncertainty with self-assurance instead of catching up on what you don’t know.
The research5 sources · 1998–2017 · with the limits of the research
- low
- moderate
- high
Moderate – Cognitive ability, leadership skills and supervisors’ technical competence.
- 2000Michael D. Mumford et al.
Skills model: leadership rests on problem-solving, judgment and social skills.
- 2012Cameron Anderson et al.
Overconfidence is mistaken for competence and confers status.
- 2017Benjamin M. Artz, Amanda H. Goodall & Andrew J. Oswald
Supervisors’ technical competence is the strongest predictor of employee job satisfaction.
Competence matters, but the link between intelligence and leadership is weaker than often assumed. Followers respond to perceived competence, which can differ from actual competence.
The originJohn C. Maxwell · “Competence”
- 1999OriginJohn C. Maxwell
The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, Quality 5
- CompetenceIn essence: Competence goes beyond words – it is the ability to announce, plan, and carry out something in a way that lets others know you can do it.
- todayWEGVISOR: Competence
The WEGVISOR version of the quality of Competence turns this into three testable measures: words, actions, and feasibility. Research cautions to distinguish real from merely perceived competence, because overconfidence can be convincing too.
The related qualities and lawsL07 Respect · L04 Navigation · L21 Legacy · Q18 Self-Discipline
Competence earns respect: strong people follow the one who reliably delivers. Without it, respect crumbles even in a high position.
Planning ahead is competence in practice. Thinking through routes and obstacles beforehand is what makes your words feasible.
Competence you pass on outlasts you. Successors need not only an example but skills they can learn from you.
Self-discipline keeps competence fresh. If you lead yourself, you practice, keep learning, and keep commitments even when no one checks.
The action points5 stages of growth – from first awareness to passing it on
- Become aware Note one situation from recent weeks in which you lacked knowledge or skill, and name without judgement the one ability that would have helped you there.
- Lay the foundations Choose the skill that carries your work the most and block one fixed hour in your calendar this week to work on it deliberately.
- Make it a habit Reserve the same fixed slot every week for learning in your field, and afterwards record in one sentence what you have already put into practice.
- Deepen deliberately Deliberately take on a task that goes beyond your routine, then ask someone with strong expertise for a frank verdict on your solution and your composure under pressure.
- Pass it on Pass on your expertise in a structured way, for example in a short monthly training session or as a mentor to someone who is new, and enable others to solve difficult problems without you.
The reflection questions5 questions for you or a conversation with others
- Which of my commitments in recent weeks did I not keep – and why?
- Where do I confuse my confident manner with actual ability?
- Which ability does my current role require that my previous one did not – and am I deliberately building it?
- How do I check before an announcement whether it is feasible?
- Who tells me honestly where my competence has gaps?
Take your time with one question. Write down your answer – or talk it over with someone you trust.
The picture to rememberShot after shot lands in the bull’s-eye. Competence needs no big words.
- Shot after shot lands in the bull’s-eye.
- Competence needs no big words.
What competence looks like in practice
Winning before the battle begins
“The victorious warrior wins first and then goes to war,” Sun Tzu wrote in the 6th century BC. The Art of War demands knowing both the enemy and yourself – and teaches that the wisest victory is the one won without fighting.
Still a Grand Slam champion at 35
Serena Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and spent 319 weeks as world No. 1. In 2017, at 35, she won the Australian Open – the oldest Grand Slam champion – because she kept evolving her game for two decades.
An economist, statistics and 20 wins in a row
On a tight budget, Billy Beane bets on economist Peter Brand, who rates players by statistics instead of looks or gut feeling. Scouts and coaches criticize the approach – until the Oakland Athletics win 20 games in a row.
