The competency question
by Miki SaxonManaging Leadership did an interesting post that started like this
Our initial axiom seemed to be, well, a no-brainer, but it generated some perhaps surprising topics for discussion. Here it is again, with its first corollary:
- The dumber they are, the smarter they think they are.
- The smarter they think they are, the dumber they are.
The first addressed the common problem of dealing with people whose high regard for themselves is not warranted, and whose false confidence sometimes even seems to be a peculiar by-product of their incompetence…
That attitude — not theirs, but ours for noting it — is actually the target of the corollary: more often than we would care to admit, those self-deluding knuckleheads are, well . . . us. And that leads us to the next point. Here is the second corollary built from our base axiom:
- The dumber they think they are, the smarter they are.
Good stuff and oh-so-true. If you have any doubts check out the article links in something I wrote at Leadership Turn (and here if I could find it:) citing Cornell’s Dr. David A. Dunning who studies this phenomenon professionally.
It’s a fascinating conundrum and countering it takes effort, self-awareness and a willingness to hear out all sources when seeking feedback on your own performance—lip service alone won’t help.
You also need to remember it when giving feedback to others—partly because they have the same problem, but also because your feedback may not be accurate.
It’s sort of like looking in a mirror that’s reflecting a mirror that’s reflecting a mirror on and on. It’s part of the human condition, so don’t fret. Just remember that just knowing about it and recognizing that you’re not immune is not only your best protection, but also the best way to keep the problem in check.
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