VCoL in action: Take skill mapping to the next level
Before you read this article, check out its predecessor, VCoL in action: skill mapping. In that article, I explained how to make a skill map. In the present article, I describe how you can customize your own skill-building itinerary by mapping the skills in LecticaLive’s assessment reports.
Below is the first section of a LecticaLive LDMA report. As you can see, the “Decision-making process” description in the first section lays out several components of the decision-making process skill. We think of the decision-making process skill as a mega-skill, so it’s useful to think of these component skills as macro-skills. The “Current skills” and “What’s next practices” below the decision-making process skills section focus on some of the mini-skills and micro-skills that are components of these macro-skills.
The hierarchy of skills, from the top, is: mega » macro » mini » micro.
Make your skill map
Altogether, the three sections of the report section shown below yield numerous skills, providing a great opportunity to use the technique described in the skill mapping article to create a skill map.
You can start with any of the six decision-making process macro-skills listed below. Then search the list of Current skills and the skills targeted in the What’s next section of the report for mini and micro-skills that relate to your chosen macro-skill. Once you have added all of the relevant mini and micro-skills listed in the report, look for skill gaps. Can you think of any relevant skills that are missing? If, so, go ahead and add them.
Once you are satisfied with your map, ask yourself which of the micro-skills in the map do not require additional polishing at this time. In other words, you think they’re good enough for now. Check off any skills that meet this criterion (as illustrated on the skill map at the top of this page). Then, from the remaining micro-skills, select one to practice, micro-VCoL style. VCoL the skill until practicing it in context has become a habit and you’re satisfied with your level of virtuosity, then select another micro-skill.
By building up skills one micro-skill at a time, we lay down a rich foundation of connections in the brain that will continually increase our level of virtuosity. And because we’re micro-VCoLing in-the-moment as we interact with the real world, our skills become increasingly robust—robust enough to allow us to adapt them for use in a wide range of contexts. This is how agility grows.
