Unskilled and Unaware: Finding a Cure for Over-Confidence

In a study of particular relevance to managers, Andreas Ortmann, a professor of experimental and behavioural economics at the Australian School of Business, has found that people at the lower end of the competence spectrum in any environment tend to over-estimate their talents in comparison to those around them. They are over-confident and unaware of it, a potentially disastrous combination in team leaders. But Ortmann says that with the right feedback, all but the least competent people can be calibrated to recognise their actual skills level and perform better as a consequence. And even the least competent can be helped, though it may take a lot longer.