We tend to confuse skills and knowledge with ability or competence. After all, we use the terms interchangeably which implies that they refer to the same thing. Likely, we do that because they are all “must-haves” in a career.
It's easy to be confused about the meanings when employers, recruiters, or writers swap the terms at random. It's easy to think complacently about their meanings when you can obtain a certificate of achievement from Google for putting in ten hours of study and have no practical experience.
The definitions are vastly different:
Capability implies that you have the cleverness, qualities, time, as well as mental and physical means to learn and do something within your power. Capability implies skills, abilities, or competences that are not yet developed.
Learning is defined as gaining new knowledge.
Knowledge is the theoretical or practical understanding you have of a subject. How well informed you become depends on other factors, such as how much effort you put into gathering authoritative facts and intelligence, and how well you understand it.
Skill is a specific ability that you possess. You can typically apply that skill in a specific setting in order to accomplish a predefined task and achieve a desired result. You are not born with skills; you learn skills through appropriate training or by practical experience which is the key to how well you improved. You perform each skill at varying levels of expertise, sometimes based on years of experience. It means you have a measurable or quantifiable proficiency to complete a task.
In the workplace, your skills can be easily defined as either a hard skill or soft skill.
Your hard skills are the technical knowledge and training you have acquired to perform tasks that range from mopping a floor, computer programming and coding, playing the piano or using a Microsoft application such as Excel.
Your soft skills encompass how you interact with others or behave in the workplace – listening skills, handling conflict, attention management, problem solving, teamwork to name a few.
Ability means you have the capacity to integrate your various qualities, strengths or behaviours – innate and learned – with your knowledge and skills to act effectively in a job or situation.
You gain more practical knowledge through experience which adds to your level of understanding and capacity to use your abilities in specific or complex ways for superior performance.
Competency is a broader concept that combines your skills, behaviors, knowledge, and abilities to enable you to effectively perform your job in a way that meets certain standards of acceptability. While any competency may include a specific skill, it is more than just your skill alone that meets a standard of competency. You are either competent or incompetent.
It is common to hear ability or competency referred to as the how component of completing a task. How do you perform the duties of your job? You can be competent without being spectacular, but continue to grow in your know-how to reach a track record of achievements in a competency.
Proficiency – while competency can refer to the bare minimum required for acceptability, proficiency carries with it a level of mastery that is above the minimum. It is when you achieve a high standard of achievement combining your skills, behaviours, knowledge and abilities to be considered accomplished.
Competency and proficiency are necessary steps to rise upward on a learning curve to master a skill and gain practical wisdom. Experiential insight and wisdom come from doing something repeatedly, learning from your mistakes and making critical decisions. We like doctors who have practical wisdom.
Not everyone wants to master every skill; that is okay, too.
A person can have all of the necessary technical skills, but they may not be able to translate those skills into job success. Let’s explore the ability of playing the piano to explain. A person could have attained the necessary knowledge of music and practiced the skills necessary to be technically perfect at playing the piano. However, if that person lacks the confidence and stress tolerance to effectively play in front of an audience, they do not have the competence or fitness to perform. If that same person is unable to communicate to explain the theory or have the patience or enthusiam to motivate a beginner, he or she may not have the capability or ability to teach piano lessons.
Many of us were taught to forget about our weaknesses, to play to our strengths. We focused on what we knew and became unshakeable authorities and experts at some things. It can be a tough thing to admit we could learn something new or different. Some people can be resistant to change. They instinctively avoid learning anything new that seems to contradict their deeply entrenched, comfortable notions about who they think they are. Being asked to learn a new skill or learn to adopt a new mindset can seem like a direct personal attack on competencies or intellect, rather than something enjoyable or gratifying or a promise of something better.
Could it be that the reason adults struggle with learning or become discouraged and resistant is because we confuse a lack of skills and knowledge with a lack of ability or competence?
When you come to a new class or a new job you arrive with a vast range of previous experiences, knowledge, self-direction, interests and competencies. Transfer of that learning is not always automatic. You may need to become familiar with new practices, new surroundings and people, and gain understanding of new ideas before you can integrate your existing knowledge and abilities and reach a new level of performance.
Remember when you there was a big test and you would pull an all-nighter, cramming facts just to pass it? Even if you nailed the test, chances are you didn’t remember half of what you studied a week later, let alone today. Cramming might work in an academic environment where your sole purpose might just be to pass an exam. However, it gets tricky when you are trying to learn a skill, because you cannot cram a skill; it takes time to perfect whatever skill you want to learn, be it a sport, playing a musical instrument, riding a motorcycle or enhancing communication skills.
Learning is gaining knowledge. What happens after learning? While learning is desireable and fine on its own, the ideal response to that questions is gaining satisfaction by applying that knowledge in real life experiences to achieve something bigger and better.
Practice is necessary. You cannot advance up the learning curve from novice to competency in any skill or ability without utilizing the knowledge and skills in useful ways. Even if you remember it all, reading all the right books on a subject makes you knowledgeable. Owning the best tools increases your material possessions. It is practice that differentiates a beginner from an expert.
Creating actual works of art propels an artist’s experience and career. Watchmakers and mechanics become capable from taking watches and engines apart and putting them back together to run accurately or smoothly. Would you consult or trust a dentist, pilot or hairdresser who had no practical training or experience? Unless a person flies a plane by himself in different situations he is not a pilot.
Never ignore the value of experiencing each stage of the learning and development process. It is the only way to gain the proficiency needed to the best that you can at whatever you choose to do.
What’s most important to you in a job?
Among today’s job-seekers there are some non-negotiable priorities that can mean the difference between a good place to work and an awesome job?
These five must haves or your list of must-haves, whatever they may be are the basis of job satisfaction, which obviously contibute to your life satisfaction and happiness.
Companies are looking for a good match, too.
A results-oriented enthusiastic team player who is dependable, responsible and has good work ethic would be high on the list of candidates. An organizations must-haves include a strong foundation and effectiveness in the following skills, abilities, and competencies:
There is no reason for an organization to settle for anything less than the best fit.
Flexible thinking allows
you to think about something in more than one way. It plays a key role in reducing anxiety, as well as not being overwhelmed or stifled by unpredictable circumstances in
your life or workplace.
Inspiration can strike when you least expect it, but that is an inefficient way to develop an idea or approach decision-making and problem solving. Instead, try one of these 7 quick and easy individual brainstorming techniques.
True professionals do not do things just for the sake of appearances. Your commitment and what you do back stage and unwitnessed is garners the respect of others, gives you satisfaction in life, and contributes meaningful value to a project or organization.
Do you know why you procrastinate. It may not be that you are simply overworked and under pressure. Identify a cause and fend it off with an easy-to-implement strategiy that can be implemented easily and set the tone for an non-procrastination-type day.
With the right sensory technique you will feel a sense of assuredness and always have a rescue tool to relieve stress on the spot. What is your sensory resuce toolbox?
As a professional, you want to get the job done – and done well. You also want to keep advancing and identify opportunities. This easy pen and pencil tool can help you with a plan.
