Competence
The Basic Idea
When you seek out a professional—whether it be a doctor, a lawyer, or a tutor—you trust that the individual has the necessary skills and knowledge to help you. Oftentimes, individuals have credentials, like university degrees, that give them credibility and reassure you they have the adequate capabilities to get the job done. Although the degree doesn’t give you evidence based on experience in their role, it provides you with a sense of comfort that someone at least has the basic abilities to perform their work.
When someone does have the attributes and expertise to perform a task or embody a role, we say they are competent. Competence can be defined as the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and judgment needed to perform the work of a particular profession.1 Competence, or at least the perception of competence, is crucial for experts in any field, as without it, others will not trust them to perform their job effectively. We must believe our politicians, psychologists, and scientists are all competent at what they do, and thus, that we should listen to their advice.
What makes an individual competent varies from field to field, and even from individual to individual. If you were asked what makes a good doctor, you might have a different answer than your friend. The things you list—perhaps empathy, knowledge, and good bedside manner—are the characteristics you personally believe make a competent doctor.
Our competence to excel in life depends on our ability to do what we can do.
– Chief Executive Officer of The WhistleMag, Sijin BT2
About the Author
Emilie Rose Jones
Emilie currently works in Marketing & Communications for a non-profit organization based in Toronto, Ontario. She completed her Masters of English Literature at UBC in 2021, where she focused on Indigenous and Canadian Literature. Emilie has a passion for writing and behavioural psychology and is always looking for opportunities to make knowledge more accessible.
