“Any effort that goes into creating the perception of competence almost always takes away from the effort required to become more competent.”

—Rohan Rajiv, Author of A Learning a Day blog

Image from Unsplash by Afif Ramdhasuma

Any effort spent trying to look competent is energy stolen from actually becoming competent.

We polish resumes, curate images, drop jargon in meetings — yet all this theater distracts from the harder, unglamorous work of skill-building and mastery.

The irony?

True competence makes perception irrelevant.

A surgeon doesn’t need a slick social media profile to earn trust. A coach doesn’t need to brag if their clients are thriving.

Chasing perception is like painting rust — it looks good briefly but erodes from within.

Competence however, compounds.

Every hour invested in learning, practice, and reflection makes you unshakable.

EXERCISE:

To what degree do you put considerable time and effort into appearing competent?

Does the phrase “Fake it till you make it” ring true for you and others in your communities?

What steps can and will you take to make your competence an irrelevant topic of discussion?