At various points in my career, I've had the challenge of managing people who overestimated their own abilities. They believed they were more skilled than they truly were, which led to misunderstandings about their performance and my feedback.
They often felt I was being unfair by not giving them more desirable assignments or rating them higher than I did.
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Scenario 1: It was a tough conversation. She ended up in tears, and I felt a mix of sadness, frustration, and confusion. How could someone interviewing for a position expect me to teach them the fundamentals? |
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Scenario 2: This happened three times! By then, I was wondering whether I had entered the Twilight Zone. Her peers were managing just fine with similar instructions. Finally, she broke down and admitted she had been taught never to ask questions and was afraid to even admit she didn’t understand me for fear of looking incompetent. My response? “But you don’t understand! What else can you do but ask?” Another tearful conversation ensued, and I had to let her go. Yet with her, there was a surprising turnaround. Three months later, she came back to my office, excited about her new job. “I walked in there asking questions,” she said. “Even when I thought I didn’t have any questions, I made some up just to see what would happen. Each time I learned something. That’s when it hit me—I really did need to ask more questions.” We beamed at each other. It was a relief to see her get it. |
So, what’s going on here? Both individuals were likely influenced by the Dunning-Kruger effect—a cognitive bias where people with limited knowledge overestimate their abilities.1
This phenomenon was first described by psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999. In their studies, those who scored in the lowest quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic predicted their performance would be above average.
Why does this happen? Simply put, without sufficient knowledge or skills, it’s hard for someone to accurately assess their own performance. They might rely too much on personal feelings rather than objective facts about their work. As a result, they often see little need for improvement and may resist constructive criticism.
Managing someone who believes they are performing well when they are not can be tricky – and maddening. Here are eight strategies that might help:
Meanwhile, pay attention to the effect of your efforts on the other team members. Are any of them picking up the slack from this low performer? If so, it’s not fair to them.
On the one hand, they may be reassured that you are making this extra effort to help their teammate. It lets them know they won’t be just blamed and kicked out without an effort made to retain them.3
On the other hand, they may resent the extra workload they are carrying from the tasks that got dropped or had to be redone. Think about how to have as honest a discussion as you can with the team members subject to your organization’s HR policies.
Understanding the Dunning-Kruger effect can really help us navigate these tricky situations with more empathy and insight. It’s all about recognizing that some people might not even realize why they’re struggling, which can make our jobs as managers a whole lot tougher.
While it does take time and effort on our part, this is what leadership requires – if we want to create an environment where team members feel safe to learn and grow.
It’s not just about improving individual performance; it’s about building a stronger team overall. When people feel supported – and see their team members being supported, they’re more likely to engage, ask questions, and contribute to the team's shared success.
