The difference between competence and capability

Yes, I know there are legal definitions of these terms, but how do you use 'competence' and 'capability' in the real world when you're talking about yourself or colleagues in a workplace context?

So what is the difference? Here's an example. Your mechanic is a very good mechanic, and he has serviced your car for many years. You trust him and his skills.

One day on your way out to do something fun with your child, you notice a strange noise under the bonnet of your car.

You stop at your mechanic's, who has a listen to your car, and says that he knows what is wrong and that it is easy to fix. There is a small part which is cracked and is rattling, and this simply needs replacing. The job will take a couple of minutes, so you breathe a sigh of relief and head for the waiting room.

Your mechanic returns with an apologetic look on his face and says that they do not have the spare part in stock. He explains that he has ordered the part and it will be in first thing the next morning. He will come to your house and fix your car on your driveway for free. He then goes on to explain that you should not drive the car in the meantime because if that cracked component actually breaks, you could do some serious engine damage. He tells you to drive the car straight home and he will fix it first thing in the morning.

As you are driving home, my question to you is this: was your mechanic capable of fixing your car? Yes or no?

What if you turned around and asked your child, sulking in the back seat, the same question? What would he say? Yes or no?

Tell the story to a few colleagues and you will find that some will say 'yes' and some will say 'no'. Interesting, isn't it?

Given the story about the mechanic, we can say that he is competent. That is, he has the skills and knowledge to do the job. But in the moment, when you, his customer, asked him to do the job, he was not able to do. In effect, he was rendered incapable of doing the job due to the missing spare part, even though he was competent.

In a work context, it is worth separating the ideas of competence and capability as illustrated by the story about the mechanic and his inability to fix your car.

When we talk about competence, we should be talking about the attributes of the individual, and what they bring to the job in terms of knowledge, skills, and also their attitude and motivation.

When they are actually asked to do a job, a lot of other factors come into play from the environment that surrounds them and the job. In the moment, at the point of work, they are asked to perform and we must remember that the stage on which they are performing will affect their performance.

For people to perform well, they must be competent, and the stage on which they are performing must also be 'competent'. Only when both performer and stage are competent, will the performer be capable of providing the desired performance.

When someone says 'he is not capable', what they normally mean is that he cannot do the job that has been delegated to him. We cannot automatically assume that the lack of capability is due to a lack of individual competence. How many times in the last week have you been unable to complete a task on time to your satisfaction? When you were unable to do something, was it because you were not competent, or was it because of a barrier in your environment?

When we are talking about someone else not performing, it is seductively easy to 'blame' the individual for the lack of performance. This tends to produce a response which focuses on changing the individual by giving them training or coaching, by trying to motivate them with a bigger stick or a bigger carrot, or at the extreme, swapping that individual for another one who is deemed to be more competent.

If the barrier to their performance was actually in their environment, then 'fixing' the individual is not the solution. Instead, we need to fix their environment.

When you are addressing a performance problem, think of the mechanic. Think about where the true barriers to performance lie; in the performer, or on the stage.

By Paul Matthews, founder, People Alchemy

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