Knowing It All

 

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” – John Wooden

Have you ever worked with a know-it-all?  The one who is not always right but never in doubt.  They know just enough, to be right often enough, to convince themselves they know-it-all.  Working with or for a know-it-all can be one of life’s most frustrating experiences.  Perhaps the only thing more challenging is trying to manage a know-it-all.

In 1999 two psychologists, David Dunning and Justin Kruger, conducted a series of tests measuring college undergraduates’ logical reasoning, grammar and social skills.  After taking the test, students were asked to complete a self-assessment regarding how well they performed.  When the researchers compared actual test results to the students’ expected results, they found that the majority of those with lower scores had significantly overestimated their performance.

Thus, we now have what is known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect which is the tendency of people with low ability in a specific area to give overly positive assessments of their ability.  This isn’t a matter of intelligence.  For that matter, highly intelligent people may be even more inclined to overestimate their ability in areas where they lack the knowledge, skill and experience to perform well.

As a person with more than a few rings around his trunk, I confess that at times I have been an overly confident know-it-all in certain areas where I knew far less than I thought I did.  When one is younger and has a few wins under their belt, it’s easy enough to fall into the know-it-all trap.  One would do well to consider that it’s not about how smart you are or how much you know, it’s about what you don’t know. Once you can admit you don’t know-it-all you are ready to begin learning.