The answer is yes. If you’ve developed a high level of competence in a particular area, you’re actually in a danger zone. If you don’t identify the pitfalls, it’s likely you’ll fall into one. Here are four to keep an eye out for.

Curse of Knowledge Trap

Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that, “The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.” Emerson was speaking in positive terms, but there is a subtle disadvantage as well. It’s the cognitive bias “the curse of knowledge.” The curse of knowledge makes it difficult or impossible to unremember information you possess.

From a competence standpoint, this means the higher your competence, the harder it is to remain objective and inquisitive with an open, unbiased mind.

Get Sloppy with Basics

My high school football coach insisted that we practice drills until we could do them “lights out” – meaning, in our sleep. That’s the level of competence he and the rest of the staff expected. The pitfall is that once this level of competence is attained, it requires less effort and focus than it did while pursuing the competence in the first place. Performance may remain high for awhile, but without continual focus on the basic fundamentals, performance will start to stagnate.

Stop Developing Talent

It can be very difficult for a highly competent person to relate to a low competence individual. In fact, one of the main benefits of corporate mentorship programs is helping the mentor remember what it was like when they faced past challenges. Ironically, the best talent developers can sometimes be those who gained a new competence recently, rather than long ago.

Stop Learning

My friend Scott Wozniak observed that, “the more I learn, the harder I have to work to keep learning.” When we lack competence, it’s obvious that we need help. Once we’ve gained competence, it’s easy to get by on what we already possess. Competence also brings with it additional responsibilities, which compete with time we might otherwise invest in our own development. Unless continued learning and growth remain a high focus, your existing competence will prevent you from advancing beyond your present level.

Competence should bring additional opportunity. Don’t let it become your ceiling instead.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader. Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or follow him on Twitter.

So how can knowledge actually be a curse? Consider a few of the ways.

Jump to Conclusions

Once we gain a degree of knowledge in a certain area, it’s difficult to resist making assumptions that we now know best what to do. Unconscious bias can cloud our rationale. In times of change (which is all the time), the methods of the past won’t always produce the same results in the future. Just because we’ve experienced success doesn’t mean we can blindly approach new situations in the same old ways.

Lose Inquisitive Spirit

Because the curse of knowledge by definition includes existing insight, it’s impossible for an expert to approach a situation as a newcomer. Where rookies default to research and external thought leadership, veterans default to their own experiences. Maintaining an inquisitive spirit is extremely difficult and can seem like a waste of time if we’re already confident we can score at least a passing grade. At this point, our expertise begins to plateau because we’re operating from memory vs. curiosity.

Fail to Communicate with Followers

If you’ve ever had an expert talk over your head, you know how hard it is to relate. Or maybe you were the expert who found it difficult to get your point across – perhaps to employees or customers. Authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath address this specific issue in an HBR article on the curse of knowledge. As an expert, you must constantly translate your message so it can be understood by the non-experts.

Fall Behind the Change Curve

I don’t know about you, but if I need emergency surgery, I want to be operated on by an expert with the latest knowledge, equipment and technology. It doesn’t matter to me if my physician was valedictorian of his medical school three decades ago – I want him to be an expert by today’s standards. If it’s been a long time since you’ve done something for the first time – and you haven’t accessed the latest thinking and methods, you may have fallen behind.

There is no substitute for knowledge and know-how. But for it to be truly be the advantage it is, we’ve got to employ it with an open mind instead of a close one. Continuous learning is more difficult than new learning, but the need has never been higher.

If you’re the expert, push yourself not just to learn new things, but also to study the latest innovations in your areas of expertise. Push yourself to see if a new approach can net better results. And if you’re an organizational leader, look for ways to capture the observations of new leaders while constantly exposing experienced leaders to new situations.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.