Let’s first consider what we mean by capability. A capability is not the same as a skill or a competency. They are higher level and typically require a cluster of skills to be demonstrated in practice. Having the capability to cook a meal requires you to bring together several skills in a coherent way – reading a recipe, chopping vegetables, understanding seasoning etc. The term capability is quite literally a combination of capacity and ability.

Ability is not enough on its own, you also need capacity. The time, space and opportunity. Creating capacity is most important when something is new or less familiar. Learning to drive takes up way more time, attention and mental capacity than when you are experienced.

Whether you demonstrate a capability in practice is also influenced by confidence. How certain you are about success/failure, whether it matters to others, how safe you feel doing it/not doing it. Many managers know how to give constructive feedback but still don’t do it, or only infrequently. They have the ability but lack the confidence or worry about the consequences.

To build and sustain a capability in practice you need enough of all three.