VeldaA.com

Categories of Competence

Karl Albrecht has identified five categories of competence:

• Situational Awareness: The type of social radar where you can read situations and interpret the behaviors of people in these situations. Interpreting people includes their intentions, emotional states, and anticipated actions.
• Presence: Also called "bearing," presence includes verbal and non-verbal patterns, appearance, posture, voice quality, and movements. This is what others process to evaluate their impression of a person.
• Authenticity: The radar of others to pick up signals from us that lead them to judge us as trustworthy, honest, ethical, open, or the opposite––unauthentic.
• Clarity: The ability to explain ourselves, illuminate ideas, transfer data and information accurately and clearly, and articulate your views.
• Empathy: Having a feeling for someone else or "sympathizing" with them. Empathy is a shared feeling between two people.

Albrecht suggests focusing on each element one day per week. However, before you can begin to make improvements with your social intelligence, you must first become aware of how others see you. Albrecht suggests that each person assess him- or herself AND try to get others to assess them as well. However, most people will be hesitant to give you candid feedback. Also, before asking others for feedback, ask yourself if you are prepared to take it.

One way is to use his Adjective Pairs exercise. The value of the results will depend on your honesty (and the honesty of others if you ask them to evaluate you). For each pair of adjectives, circle the number between them to indicate where you are on the scale.

After you have finished, step back and see if there is any pattern.

• Are your numbers on one side or another?
• Do your answers tell a story?
• Do you go out of your way to make yourself "look good"?
• Do the highest rated ones suggest your particular strengths?
• Are there certain aspects that you would like to develop, even if they are not particularly low?

You may want to focus on one or two adjectives to devote special attention. Then experiment over the next few weeks with behaviors that might modify that behavior.

Next section build situational awareness...