Task/Thought

Competency is contextual.  It is identified based on a role, a position description, or a title.  For example: “we are looking for a competent civil engineer”.

Competency might be better measured against tasks rather than title.  For example, “this civil engineer is competent at designing structural members.”

But it’s difficult to measure competency at thinking, and yet that is what knowledge workers – and creatives – need to spend time doing.  Otherwise, the work is procedural, or done by rote, or can easily be automated.  Innovative knowledge work relies heavily on the experience, skills and knowledge of the person doing the work.