Most of us dread having to cope with an incompetent coworker. Typically, such people are unaware of the negative impact, they’re having on those around them. They may not be willfully stupid, nor do they screw up intentionally, but they continue to make costly mistakes and blunders as if they didn’t know or didn’t care.

Incompetent people tend to be set in their ways and may not appreciate the need for doing anything differently. It will be a challenge to change their behavior but learning how to apply the five levels of the Competence Index (CI) will help you make the most of your predicament.

Keep in mind that these are not bad people; they just behave in an incompetent manner under certain conditions. To make this exercise more realistic, imagine yourself the following situation:

Level 3 – Gets it after being hit over the head with it.

Situation: Your company is losing clients, and you believe the problem originates with Carla, the CEO. She is fully immersed in negotiating with investors, but she ignores the personnel side of the business. As a result, there is no one with authority to oversee day-to-day activities and respond to customer complaints. Individual department managers are left to their own devices.

Strategy: Carla is smart and ambitious, so it is worth trying to reason with her. However, you first must catch her attention. Here are some steps you can take to share your frustrations:

1. Ask to meet with her in person. Tell her it is important enough that you are willing to come to her office.
2. Present her with a written list of your concerns. Tell her that your colleagues and coworkers have voiced similar concerns.
3. Emphasize that managers will be resigning, and the firm may suffer if the situation continues. If you are prepared to do so, offer to resign if there is no change.
4. Offer your solution, which is to hire an experienced manager to serve as operations director. Share examples of how this worked in other places.
5. Suggest that by delegating the responsibility for operations, she would be free to do what she does best which is to attract new investors and raise additional capital.

Knowing how to apply these strategies should help you identify which competencies a particular person is missing. Then, you’ll be able to assist him or her to develop those skills and abilities, which in the long run will minimize the risk of rejection.