Illusory Superiority
Illusory Superiority bias refers to the tendency for people to overestimate their abilities and attributes relative to the same qualities and abilities of others.
For example, a person might believe they are more intelligent than the average person.
Illusory superiority is sometimes referred to the Dunning-Kruger Effect. However, these biases are different.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is where people with low ability in a specific area or at a task overestimate their ability. It is characterized by a lack of self-awareness that prevents a person from accurately assessing their skills.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect is more about specific incompetence in a particular area and one's lack of awareness regarding their lack of capability in that specific area. With this bias, the less skilled or knowledgeable a person is, the more they overestimate their own skills or knowledge. And highly skilled individuals might underestimate their relative competence, wrongly assuming that tasks which are easy for them are also easy for others.
While both biases involve some form of overestimation of one’s abilities or qualities, illusory superiority is a broader bias that refers to general traits or abilities.
Impact on LEADERSHIP AND BUSINESS
Treasure:
In leadership, this bias can be a treasure as it can lead to increased confidence and self-assuredness. Leaders who demonstrate high confidence levels, can spur contagious confidence in a business environment. This can encourage risk-taking and bold decision-making, which may lead to innovation and business growth.
Leaders who believe strongly in their vision and abilities might be more effective in persuading others to buy into a bold, forward-looking strategy – crucial in leading companies through periods of change or in pioneering new markets.
A leader who overestimates their abilities might be more persistent when facing challenges, as they believe more strongly in their capacity to overcome them. They will tend to maintain their course in the face of criticism or skepticism and will persevere in situations where others might give up. This resilience can be vital in entrepreneurship and in industries where innovative ideas are initially met with doubt.
And leaders who think highly of their capabilities might set higher goals and aspirations, which can drive a business to aim for greater achievements.
Risk:
However, it can also be a risk in leadership and business and can lead to detrimental outcomes including poor decision-making, inability to learn from mistakes, and sometimes alienation of team members due to a lack of humility.
This bias can lead to significant issues including a lack of consideration for alternative perspectives, a lack of self-awareness, and poor judgment.
For example, a leader may consistently make decisions without seeking input from others, or they may make unrealistic claims about their abilities leading to an inability to achieve their objectives.
To identify the illusory superiority bias in a leader, it is important to look for signs of overconfidence and an overestimation of their abilities and attributes relative to others.
KNOW YOUR KNOTS - Learn to recognize when the Illusory Superiority is taking the lead.
Ask yourself:
Do I believe I’m above average in many areas?
Am I open to constructive criticism?
Have I been surprised by my mistakes or shortcomings?
Do I compare myself to others?
STRATEGIES to manage this bias: Pause – Perspective – Practice - Progress
Pause:
Ask yourself if you tend to believe that you are above average in multiple aspects of your life, such as intelligence, skills, or social abilities, without objective evidence to support these claims.
Reflect on how you respond to constructive criticism or feedback from others. Are you open to the idea that you may have room for improvement, or do you dismiss it because you think you’re already highly competent?
Think about situations where you were surprised by your own mistakes or shortcomings, especially in areas where you believed you excelled. Did these experiences lead to self-reflection?
Consider whether you frequently compare yourself to others and believe you are superior to them in various aspects without considering the full context.
Perspective:
Ask for feedback from team members or colleagues to gain a more accurate perspective on a leader’s abilities and attributes.
Seeking diverse perspectives and regularly challenging assumptions can help leaders to avoid the illusory superiority bias
Practice:
Be intentional about increasing your level of self-awareness and encourage the same for your team. Regularly assess skills and competencies with an objective, combined with seeking honest feedback from others.
Implement regular performance evaluations for you and your team. Include specific feedback mechanisms to enable constructive feedback to understand strengths, as well as areas for improvement.
Set realistic and achievable goals in leadership development. Focus on continuous improvement in key areas that would increase your leadership effectiveness, rather than aiming to be “the best” in every area.
Leverage external benchmarks to gain perspective of the performance and abilities of you and your team relative to industry standards.
Promote peer reviews and collaborations which can provide valuable insights and help individuals gain a more realistic understanding of their abilities.
Progress:
Understand and emphasize the importance of humility in leadership, and the importance of acknowledging your limitations.
Provide training and development opportunities to enhance and elevate skills and competencies across your organization.