Peter Drucker asserted that people encounter sudden incompetence when they believe in a new role; they can continue doing what made them successful in the old role. This YouTube video summarizes his thoughts and the cure for sudden incompetence.
Making mistakes isn’t fun, but it’s necessary. What happens when mistakes occur and a person doesn’t learn but stubbornly does the same thing again?
At what point does someone become unteachable? That is when sudden incompetence occurs; a person in a new role keeps doing the things that gave them success before, but they no longer work. Yet, they refuse to learn and adjust to their new role.
The cure for sudden incompetence is to be humble enough to remain teachable regardless of experience or past successes. Be humble enough to remain a lifelong learner.
