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Dr Mandar Marathe

What’s your +1?

📅 Wed 26 November 2025 at 04:44 GMT

Mandar Marathe Mandar Marathe 📁 Daily, Pedagogy

– Why is it that sometimes you start a new project with great enthusiasm, thinking you’re able to do it, but ultimately, you fail, falling flat on your face?

– Why does an employee beg for more responsibility, but their boss won’t give it? So the employee leaves for a different job that gives responsibilities and growth.

– When your subordinate or student is dead keen, but you know it means more headache for you, so you won’t even reply to their email?

What’s going on here?

OK, yes, there are 1001 possible explanations, most of them negative, defensive, accusatory, critical, pejorative, and ultimately… unhelpful.

But here’s A Deeper Thought: there’s a concept that’s rarely talked about, that’s so mainstream that it draws upon several well-established theories1 without having a cool name itself, yet it not only explains all the above scenarios, but it also shows how to solve them.

The concept – I’m going to call it “My Zone of Competence +1” to make the theories easier to operationalise – is that we’re most effective, and we learn and grow the best, when we operate just one level (the “+1”) above our current competence level.

If we are at +0 we stagnate. If we are at -1 or lower, we get bored and complacent. If we are at +2 or more, we are setup to fail. The +1 is the sweet spot for growth and development, as long as we can access support – which can be teaching, training, guidance, mentorship or leadership.

The magic happens at +1 because it’s challenging enough to stretch you, but close enough to your current capability that success is achievable with focused effort and without drowning.

I’ve seen it in my own life so many times. Projects I crashed because they were +10. Me not wanting to take on a responsibility because it’s being sold as a +1 but I can see it’s a clear +5 at least. The boss who refused to give me roles because he could not work out what my baseline competence was, when I was a newbie. Junior colleagues I turned away because they wanted more than what their +1 could handle (sorry!!!)

I have often blamed myself or others for such disappointments.

However, the common thread running through these examples is that they cannot be explained by obvious assumptions such as someone being irresponsible, or lazy, or untrusting, or unsupportive. The common thread is actually a mis-match between the competence required for the task, the person’s Zone of Competence, what might be within +1 of that Zone, and what support could realistically be offered.

Of course, there are times when we’re forced into a +5 or a +10, and that can ultimately lead to growth. But it comes with risks: failure, burnout, and the need for heavy support. It’s definitely something to prepare for, but not necessarily something to wish for.

By the way, this is not only about the workplace. I first came across this concept during the year abroad of my language degree when the language school insisted on giving all new students a placement test, even though they had our university transcripts. The manager explained that from a pedagogical perspective, we all needed to be given a stimulus which is precisely +1. Frustrating for us (more tests!), but truly enlightened, pedagogically.

So, over to you! The “My Zone of Competence +1” framework offers a useful way to think about personal and professional development. Instead of blaming yourself or others when things don’t work out, ask: “Was this really a +1, or was it a +5?” When seeking new challenges, look for opportunities that stretch you just enough. And when leading others, resist the temptation to either overprotect (keeping them at +0) or overwhelm (jumping to +3 or beyond). Find their +1, provide the support they need, and watch them thrive.

And that’s A Deeper Thought.

  1. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development – the idea that optimal learning happens in the space between what you can do independently and what you can achieve with guidance or scaffolding.

    Kegan’s Constructive Development Framework – at each stage of learning, people can only really comprehend and grow into the stage immediately above their current one, and no more.

    Krashen’s Input Hypothesis for second language acquisition – stimulus should be just slightly above a learner’s current proficiency. ↩︎
Mandar Marathe

Daily, at 7am (UK time)

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– Mandar

🔖 #competence #leadership #learning #ADeeperThought #Day6

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