Way of the Turtle - 4 Levels of Competency

 

• Level One: Neophyte - unable to perform and unable to evaluate other’s performance effectively. This covers most people who invest and trade.
• Level Two: Evaluator - cannot perform but can competently evaluate the performance of others; demonstrates a knowledge of the issues and the environment and enough about the subject but may not possess the requisite traits to perform competently.
• Level Three: Performer - competent to perform; can fulfill the basic requirements of the domain but does not have a sufficient grasp on the reasons behind their own competence to be able to help others move from level one to level two or from level two to level three.
• Level Four: Master - can perform and has sufficient knowledge of the traits and requirements for competence to teach others; demonstrates a superior knowledge of the issues and the environment and subject, possesses the requisite traits to perform as well as a very clear sense of the important issues required to move up the competence ladder.

The reasons that trying to move from level one directly to level-three can be so devastating is that it makes it much more likely that one will not be successful or that upon achieving success one will never reach mastery. Let’s explore these two problems separately.

Source: Way of the Turtle