Identify and mitigate the Dunning-Kruger effect in your employees

In the business world, competence and confidence are crucial to performance and professional development. However, a cognitive distortion known as the Dunning-Kruger effect can negatively influence these dynamics.

What is the Dunning-Kruger effect?

The Dunning-Kruger effect, identified by psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999, is a cognitive bias whereby people with low competence in a field tend to overestimate their abilities, while those with high competence often underestimate their skills. Thus, incompetent people don’t know they’re not competent, because they don’t have sufficient knowledge of the subject to be able to discern their competence. Conversely, “As soon as you start to have a little doubt, that means you’re starting to be competent.”[1]

Potential corporate illustrations

To better understand the Dunning-Kruger effect, let’s consider two concrete examples in a corporate context.

Example 1: The overconfident employee

Let’s imagine an employee named John. John has recently been promoted to a project management position. He is enthusiastic and confident in his abilities, but his project management experience is limited. Due to the Dunning-Kruger effect, John overestimates his skills. He decides to launch a project without consulting his more experienced colleagues or following established procedures. Convinced of his skills, he ignores advice and suggestions that could improve the project.

Over time, mistakes start to appear: poor resource management, missed deadlines and ineffective communication with stakeholders. Despite these problems, John remains convinced of his competence and blames others or circumstances for the difficulties encountered. The Dunning-Kruger effect prevents him from seeing his own shortcomings and asking for the help he needs to improve the situation.

Example 2: The underestimated employee

Let’s take the case of Marie, a highly skilled and experienced employee in her field. Marie has in-depth knowledge of the company’s processes and is recognized by her colleagues as an expert. However, she suffers from a lack of confidence in her own abilities, an inverse manifestation of the Dunning-Kruger effect. She constantly underestimates her skills and avoids taking on additional responsibilities or applying for higher positions.

In meetings, Marie is reluctant to share her ideas, fearing she won’t be up to the task. As a result, her potential contributions are often overshadowed by those of other, less competent but more confident employees. This situation leads to an under-utilization of her talents and deprives the company of the innovation and expertise she could bring.

Strategies for managers

To mitigate the negative effects of this cognitive bias, managers can adopt several strategies:

• Continuous assessment and constructive feedback

Implementing continuous assessment and constructive feedback systems is crucial.Regular, objective assessments help to better align the perception of skills with reality.Constructive feedback helps employees to understand their strengths and weaknesses, thus promoting better self-assessment.

• Encourage training and continuous development

Promoting a culture of continuous training and personal development can help reduce the Dunning-Kruger effect. Training programs enable employees to improve their skills and become aware of their shortcomings, which can reduce unwarranted overconfidence.

• Mentoring and coaching

Mentoring and coaching are powerful tools for helping employees develop a more accurate perception of their skills. An experienced mentor or coach can provide external perspectives and guide employees in their professional development.

• Encourage open communication

Creating an environment where open communication is encouraged allows employees to share their concerns and challenges without fear of judgment. This can help identify where the Dunning-Kruger effect is present and remedy it quickly.

Conclusion

The Dunning-Kruger effect is a common phenomenon in the workplace, which can have a detrimental effect on team performance and dynamics. As managers, understanding this cognitive bias and implementing strategies to manage it is essential to fostering a productive and harmonious work environment.

[1] https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio/premiere/emissions/medium-large/segments/chronique/104849/pourquoi-incompetents-trouvent-bons