Some employees display complete confidence in their skills, even when their work reveals genuine gaps. This phenomenon, known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, does not only affect the individual concerned: it impacts their team, their manager and, ultimately, the performance of the organisation as a whole. Understanding it means giving yourself the means to act before its effects become entrenched.
Understanding the Dunning-Kruger Effect
Confidence Inversely Proportional to Competence
The Dunning-Kruger effect describes the mechanism by which people who lack knowledge and skills in a specific area are nevertheless convinced that they possess them. Unaware of their own gaps, they persuade themselves that those gaps do not exist. The greater the skills deficit, the less the individual is able to assess it objectively: this is the particular nature of the phenomenon.
A concrete workplace example illustrates this well. An employee submits a piece of work on time relating to the digital sector and considers it excellent. Yet, for lack of sufficient knowledge of SaaS platforms, their output is flawed and potentially incorrect. They remain convinced that they have done good work, and hold their ground with assurance, even in the face of feedback from their manager.
This mechanism was identified in 1999 in an experiment conducted by Justin Kruger and David Dunning. The least competent students were precisely those who had the greatest difficulty estimating their own level. Even when the correct answers were right in front of them, they persisted in misjudging their own abilities. A lack of competence also, paradoxically, deprives the individual of the capacity to perceive that lack.
The Reverse Effect: The Most Competent Who Underestimate Themselves
The Dunning-Kruger effect has an equally important counterpart. The most competent employees tend to underestimate themselves. Wrongly assuming that tasks which come easily to them will be just as easy for others, they minimise their own added value and doubt their legitimacy: this is impostor syndrome, the mirror image of the Dunning-Kruger effect.
These two mechanisms can coexist within the same team, generating imbalances in how individuals perceive their own skills and contributions. For a manager, being aware of both phenomena is a practical advantage in supporting employees more effectively.
The Concrete Consequences Within Organisations
A Bias That Is Difficult to Detect and Costly to Ignore
The Dunning-Kruger effect does not always manifest itself in obvious ways, particularly during the early stages of a recruitment process. A candidate who overestimates their skills may display a level of assurance that passes through the filters of a conventional selection process. Vigilance is therefore essential from the assessment phase onwards, with practical exercises that allow the confidence on display to be tested against the reality of the results produced.
This bias can persist long after onboarding. The employees concerned may receive positive appraisals, pay rises or promotions based on their apparent confidence rather than their actual results. This disconnect is not without consequences for other members of the team.
An Impact on Team Dynamics and Collective Performance
When responsibilities or recognition are allocated to individuals whose actual skills do not warrant them, a sense of injustice can gradually set in among the rest of the team. This feeling directly affects engagement: a low level of commitment leads to drops in productivity and well-being that can destabilise an entire team.
The Dunning-Kruger effect, if left unidentified and unaddressed, weakens collective cohesion and undermines the achievement of shared objectives. It is not an individual problem: it is a performance issue that concerns the organisation as a whole.
The Manager's Role in Supporting Self-Awareness
Regular Monitoring and Structured Feedback
The first managerial response to the Dunning-Kruger effect is the establishment of a rigorous monitoring framework. For each assignment or project, detailed feedback from both the manager and the employee themselves makes it possible to align perceptions and expectations. This regular dialogue helps to identify specific challenges and skills gaps to address, drawing on factual data rather than impressions.
Regular monitoring also has a direct educational benefit: it creates the conditions for a gradual awakening. By exposing the employee to repeated, objective assessments, the manager gives them the means to better perceive the gap between their self-perception and the reality of their output. Skills analysis platforms can reinforce this approach by quantifying objectives and making progress visible over the long term. When improvements appear, however modest, highlighting and recognising them strengthens engagement and supports ongoing development.
Training as a Lever for Building Self-Awareness
Training plays a structuring role in addressing the Dunning-Kruger effect. By exposing employees to structured content in areas where their skills are limited, it creates the conditions for more accurate self-assessment. Repeated exercises and regular practice in defined areas enable a fairer evaluation of one's own skills, and therefore improved day-to-day performance.
Training focused on soft skills is particularly relevant in this context. Developing the capacity to question oneself, to take on board critical feedback and to objectively assess one's own level of mastery: all behavioural skills that sustainably enhance the quality of work and the cohesion of operational teams.
