We all have our areas of expertise - things that we know and understand better than others.
Warren Buffett calls it the circle of competence.
As we grow, the circle typically expands but it never disappears. Else, many of us could become all-knowing Buddha.
As mortal humans, we often tend to over-estimate the boundaries of our circle of competence.
The higher we rise in our career, the lesser our expertise gets challenges, and hence the greater the tendency to inflate our circle of competence - at least in our own minds. And the more we do it, the more we start tripping towards incompetence without us even realising.
At all points in our career, it helps to have a realistic understanding of our circle of competence. Only then we know how to grow it and when to seek help.
For leaders, this understanding becomes even more important - to be able to build teams that complement their own competence.
It all starts with self-reflection and humility.
If you spot an all-knowing leader, it is the first sign of a team that is not performing to its full potential.
#competence #performance #expertise #team #leadership