HOW ACCURATE IS YOUR SELF-RATING?

“What are your strengths and weaknesses?” is the most predictable question asked to job aspirants. Candidates are well- prepared to answer the stock question, and if you’re a skilled manager, you know that you must discount the answer. Likewise, at least once in a year, all corporate employees are asked to answer several self-assessment questions during performance appraisals. Skilled managers know that self-ratings are suspect and you apply your own discounting factor.

We all have experienced work colleagues who think they are better than they really are. Psychological research however, suggests that we are not very good at evaluating ourselves- we overestimate our abilities.

Self-assessments have been researched by behavioral psychologists for years. Let’s examine some key behavioral research findings on self-assessments.   

The Dunning-Krugger effect- a cognitive bias in which people wrongly overestimate their expertise and abilities deserves the first mention. David Dunning and Justin Krugger of Cornell University tested participants on different behaviors, traits and skills, and found that those who performed in the bottom quartile rated their skills far above average.

For example, those in the 12th percentile, self-rated their expertise to be on an average in the 62nd percentile. Dunning and Krugger attributed the problem to inability to objectively analyze one’s own thoughts and performance. Less aware people bear a dual burden- not only they hold inaccurate view about themselves, and they do not realize this flaw in themselves.

According to Murphy and Cleveland, all rater groups (bosses, peers, direct reports & customers) agreed more with each other than any agreed with self-ratings. This rater group consistently showed significant relationships between their ratings and the performance of the person on the job.

Goleman found that on 360-degree assessments, average performers typically overestimate their strengths whereas the star performers rarely do. 

Self is generally the worst judge of performance in managerial jobs. Self-ratings are often unrelated to job success. On the other hand, the ratings by other groups (boss, direct reports and peers) show significant relationship with actual performance.

Different research findings point to the following key conclusions on our tendency to overestimate our competence and abilities: 

• Relying on self-ratings is not a sound practice. It is therefore important to look for data from multiple sources.
• Self-ratings are most accurate on strengths and least accurate on weaknesses. Therefore, most of the deficient skills are those very same skills about which people are least accurate.
• We often judge ourselves by our intentions and others judge us by our behaviors. Other people are more accurate, because they are more likely to see our behaviors with fresh perspective and because our behavior has an impact on them.
• Anyone of any age, gender, education, profession can be unwitting victim of Dunning-Krugger effect- tendency to overestimate our abilities and skills.

Luckily there are some simple strategies to protect yourself from the Dunning-Krugger effect. First is feedback. The best way of knowing how well you are performing is to seek feedback from trusted and high performing people who are willing to tell you the truth. Second is deliberately fighting your natural tendency to become defensive. Feeling defensive in not uncommon but in your own interest, intentionally invite constructive, well-meaning criticism. Thirdly, 360-degree feedback is extremely valuable. Relying on self-ratings for job performance and career development is not a sound practice. Self-ratings must be compared dispassionately with ratings by bosses, peers, direct reports and customers. Most 360-degree reports show the deviation between self-rating and the ratings given by other raters. This analysis is extremely valuable for enhancing self-awareness and personal development.

I remember a Dilbert’s cartoon I had seen some years back. Dilbert says “Everybody exaggerates his or her talents. There is no trick to do that. You need to take it to the next level: complete fantasy!”

Dilbert’s advice is a reflection of how the human mind works. Choose realism over fantasy- no matter how agonizing the process is. Finally, you will stand to benefit.