Cool, hip and trendy… looking like a

*censored for professional purposes*.  If you don’t mind a bit of fruity language you can find the inimitable Eddie Izzard talking about a fashion cycle here on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTnCtcvr384, just watch the first 3 minutes or so.

Now, why have I bought this to your attention?  Well my brain made the comedic connection when reading this thought-provoking CPD23 post by Sheila Webber.  I am a battle-scarred old war-horse of a library worker and this post struck several sonorous chords.  I have come across the Conscious Competence Model* before and had even worked it into some information skills training that I helped to write whilst at The OU (Information Skills for Researchers).  What I had not come across was the idea that I could slide back around into unconscious incompetence (from 4. to 1. in the diagram).

Is unconscious incompetence a problem?  Well, yes.  I don’t know what it is that I don’t know about.  And if the thing that I don’t know about could help me in my work, well, then, let’s try at least to find out what it is that I don’t know.  Following me?

Let’s just say that with regards developing professionally, if I want to ‘own’ and lead my own development (which I do), programmes such as CPD23 provide a perfect framework to find out about Things.

CPD23, Week 8, random image – The Allium.   Why?  Well I was thinking along the lines of ‘knowing your onions’?   Bit cryptic for this late on a Wednesday?

Px

*Does anyone know who first proposed the Model?  I’d love to be able to credit them.