How we learn: the 4 stages of competence

In our journey of personal and professional development, understanding how we acquire new skills is crucial. The Four Stages of Competence model outlines the progression we experience as we build expertise.

1. Unconscious Incompetence
   At this stage, we’re unaware of our lack of skill or knowledge. In the early days of Greens View Realty, we didn’t grasp the complexities of real estate ownership and management. We didn’t know what we didn’t know.

2. Conscious Incompetence
   Here, we recognize our deficiencies and limitations. After acquiring our first property, we realized value creation drives better returns. A turnkey property sits at the end of the value chain—many others have already been paid for the value it holds. Once we experienced for ourselves, we evolved our acquisition strategy.

3. Conscious Competence
   At this stage, we actively develop & then practice our skills. At GVR, we embraced the idea of creating value ourselves by acquiring properties needing renovation before leasing. While this approach required more upfront capital, it unlocked better cash flows and stronger returns over time.

4. Unconscious Competence
   Finally, the skill becomes second nature. For us, that means we no longer consider turnkey properties. Instead, we focus on geographies and properties with untapped potential. By creating value upfront, we position ourselves for exponential growth over the long term.

Understanding these stages empowers us to navigate personal and professional growth more effectively while recognizing where we are in the process helps us move deliberately toward mastery.

But mastery begins with action. We knew with the first home we acquired in 2020 we would make lots of mistakes but that those mistakes would be valuable learnings. We would not have learned anything if we didn’t act. For us we took action, got off the sidelines, embraced the learning curve, and got in the game.