Management and Organizational Behavior
Name
Institution
Abstract
Sally and Brad represent individuals who have been affected by the Dunning-Kruger effect leading them to misrepresent their abilities. Sally is a veteran worker who has headed a successful team for five years but believes that her performance is merely average. On the other hand, Brad is a new trainee who often delivers poorly and volunteers for most projects, including those that he is unqualified for. Therefore, during the performance appraisals, I would offer both of these employees clear and unambiguous advice so they could fulfill their full potential at the organization. I would present Sally with evidence of her team’s success and her upward trajectory at the company to prove her exceptional performance. Therefore, I could encourage her to realize her high performance so she could apply for a well-deserved promotion and rank among the top 20% workers. But, I would urge Brad to realistically consider his skills and begin to learn new techniques to counteract his overconfidence. As a result, Brad could work on projects he was more suited for and diminish his chances of getting ranked in the bottom 20% workers. Also, I will seek new skills, external criticism, and advice, and continually question my knowledge as a way of overcoming the Dunning-Kruger effect in my life.
Keywords: employees, performance, self-awareness
Management and Organizational Behavior
Question 1
Sally is a highly-skilled supervisor whose team is one of the best in the company, primarily due to her supportive leadership. However, she is modest and always attributes most of the team’s success to her group members. Therefore, although Sally may inspire her subordinates to work harder, her introverted nature means that she many get passed up for a well-deserved promotion. Kruger and Dunning (1999) argue that some highly-qualified individuals often tend to underestimate their abilities. Therefore, high performance is often associated with lower perceptions of one’s abilities. Individuals like Sally often assume that their colleagues have performed more exceptionally than they have, and so they underestimate their abilities. They often believe that they do not adequately compare to how well their peers may have performed. Consequently, while trying to be modest, Sally might downplay her achievements at the company, meaning she may not get rated among the top 20% employees.
On the other hand, Brad is a trainee who has consistently performed poorly in the projects he has worked on since his inception. During his interview, Brad asserted that he was sure he would perform excellently in university – a hypothesis which his results proved to be untrue. Moreover, Brad continues to struggle with fundamental ideas that other trainees have already grasped which has significantly affected his performance. But, he keeps blaming his colleagues for his mistakes and masks his incompetence with enthusiasm. According to Kruger and Dunning (1999), incompetence often causes an inability to recognize that one’s performance is lacking. Individuals in the bottom quartile often overestimate themselves and believe that they are above average performers. Their gross overestimation may result from a lack of metacognitive skills. These skills help one comprehend when they are wrong or right (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). Brad’s self-assessment indicated he believed that his performance had been outstanding.
Question 2
I would urge Sally to own the extent of her contributions to the company, and accurately speak out on her involvement in her team’s success. My efforts would be geared towards helping her understand the detrimental impact of constantly undermining her worth. First, I would discourage her tendency to doubt her performance and assume her colleagues are doing better. Nonetheless, her results and glowing reports from her team members prove that she is an excellent employee and leader. I would also remind Sally of her career path since she joined the firm, and her continued excellence. Using as many measurable standards of performance as possible would convince Sally that she was meeting all attainable performance goals. As a result, she need not doubt her abilities or assume that she had nothing to do with her team’s success. Therefore, by understanding her competence levels, Sally would be more likely to own her accomplishments. Thus, she could get rated in the top 20% and receive a bonus and a promotion if she applied for one.
Alternatively, I would encourage Brad to extensively study his record against measurable standards of performance to help him comprehend that his output was below average. I would attempt to fix his cognitive bias so he could get a comprehensive understanding of his strengths and weaknesses. As a result, he could begin to learn new skills and techniques he might have failed to acquire during his first year as a trainee. Moreover, I would stress that his tendency to overestimate his abilities may be because he is new to his skill. Therefore, if he continued to gather the relevant expertise, Brad would be less inclined to exaggerate his prowess at his job. Nonetheless, I would advise him against impulsive and quick decisions to volunteer for tasks he might be unsuited for as that increases his chances of failure. Armed with the right information and set of skills, Brad would no longer have to use confidence and enthusiasm to become complacent (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). Hence, he could avoid being ranked in the bottom 20% and losing his job.
Question 3
If my success at university did not meet my demands, I would most likely begin to question my self-assessment regarding my abilities. According to Cherry (2019), an individual can gain a more realistic assessment of themselves through three different techniques. First, they would have to be highly motivated to keep learning and practicing their skills instead of assuming they know everything about a specific subject. A motivation to keep digging deeper regarding a particular subject matter would ensure that I keep gaining more significant insights into the issue. Consistent learning would most effectively combat the tendency to assume I am an expert on the subject even though I am not. Secondly, I would seek the help of my loved ones and colleagues for constructive criticism, and be willing to accept helpful advice. Although it may prove challenging to hear, their feedback could provide me with valuable knowledge involving how others perceive my performance.
Another useful technique would be the deliberate questioning of one’s knowledge to affirm the information they currently possess on the subject (Cherry, 2019). Thus, I would keep challenging my expectations and beliefs on each topic. Seeking out information that challenged my knowledge would also help me avoid confirmation bias. As a result, questioning what I know would ensure that I deliberated over most of my decisions before making them to avoid jumping into conclusions. Lastly, I would strive to differentiate situations where confidence is necessary from where it is not. This comprehension would encourage me to pursue preparatory self-doubt, extensive learning, and consideration instead of in-the-moment faith. This process would allow me to consider how I might be wrong in a specific scenario and develop several contingency plans to handle such situations. Developing such a positive culture would then motivate me to work harder and strategize for all cases.
References
Cherry, K. (2019, June 14). Dunning-Kruger Effect: Why Incompetent People Think They Are Superior. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-the-dunning-kruger-effect-4160740
Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: how difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of personality and social psychology, 77(6), 1121.