In 1859, Abraham Lincoln was brought to Milwaukee, Wisconsin by the State Agricultural Society to give a speech on agriculture. At what is now the home of the Wisconsin State Fair, he spoke on a subject of which while he had personal knowledge, having grown up on a farm, it was one which he despised. His travels, adventures, and odd jobs of his youth were a direct result of him leaving his family farm as quickly as he could. Yet despite his lack of personal passion for farming as a profession, his craft (and gift) as a researcher and translator of learned knowledge to public and legal argument of opinions, was of diverse use. In other words, he was well read and spoke well. It was during this speech that he said,
'Every man is proud of what he does well, and no man is proud of that he does not well. With the former, his heart is in his work; and he will do twice as much of it with less fatigue'
Now this may seem like the obvious. Everyone knows that we're able to commit much more to what we are good at or what we enjoy. If that's the case though, why are so many smart, talented, and humble people struggling? Perhaps it's that some of the smartest, most talented, and humble people don't truly know what they do well. Whether through insecurities or beat down by a hard world, they see in themselves only weaknesses that need fixing. In turn, they double down in the wrong direction, spreading themselves thinly (emotionally, physically, and mentally) as they try to cover it all. Considering Lincoln's words, '...every man is proud of what he does well'; if only all knew their gift, their calling...their call sign.
Perhaps what is at play is what's described as 'Impostor Syndrome'. Though named in the 70's, the psychological occurrence has become a current talking point phenomenon in personal and professional development circles as we think about talented people subconsciously limiting themselves. The concept holds that individuals continuously doubt their skills, talents, or accomplishments and are then in a constant state of paralyzing fear. The fear of being exposed as a fraud, restricts their public or private devotion to a pursuing or practicing a skill, which limits their growth.
So if talented people aren't feeding into their talent, be it because of Imposter Syndrome or something else, what are they feeding? Frighteningly, it may be the wrong skills altogether. As psychologist David Dunning and Justin Kruger penned, some of the tasks and skills in which we are the most incompetent, is where we believe we are the most competent.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect is a form of cognitive bias where people with limited knowledge or ability in a particular space compared to their peers, significantly overestimate their knowledge or ability. According to Dunning and Kruger, there is a baseline knowledge that is required in order to estimate one's ability. To bring it to a modern example: When my daughter was learning to drive, she did well on the residential roads, but she was still nervous about entering the expressway. Rightly so, it can be an intimidating environment when you're used to traveling at 35 miles per hour with only a few cars around you, to 65 miles per hour with hundreds of cars, all at varying speeds and distance. However, if the expressway were completely empty, I don't think she'd have any fear. She'd have nothing to compare her driving, her speed, or her distance to. With Dunning and Kruger's thought process, we often gain confidence in a task because we simply don't yet know enough, to know that we actually don't know enough.
Is it possible that more of our workforce is living the extremes of over or under qualified? Given Dunning-Kruger's assumption, there are millions of people performing jobs today that not only are they not good at, they believe they are the best. With Impostor Syndrome, we also have millions of people committing to roles that are far inferior to where their true talent calls. Considering these two, is it any wonder we find an epidemic of professional burn-out? Much of our working population are performing roles they have no place in doing. Had they known better, perhaps they could devote their time and energy in the right direction.
As a leader, you will be put in positions of regular assessment. You are assessing the business, its processes, its products or services, you are assessing its people, their performance, their engagement, their abilities, and hopefully, their well-being. How you choose to use that information is what separates a good leader from a poor leader. Make the wrong assessment or advise/direct the wrong action based on what you saw in that original assessment and your job is on the line.
From a people perspective, we often subconsciously are looking at the talent of our team members from a limited view. We assess them based on this particular place in time, rather than assessing the person, their (unknown or underutilized) talent, and their story as a whole. Because of this, when someone is not performing, we are quick to judge them as 'in' or 'out', 'capable' or 'incapable', 'strong' or 'weak' and so on. The response as the leader is then typically to find correction for the individual.
If we are to follow Dunning and Kruger's rule, that correction could come as a surprise, given that they never knew they were performing poorly to begin with. If Imposter Syndrome is in place, we could be focusing correction of a skill and role that they shouldn't be pursuing in the first place, because they lack the internal confidence to pursue their true path (which may be outside of and above their role today). All of this leads to negative and disruptive energy for the individual, which trickles down to delayed growth for the organization.
Leaders aren't psychologist and shouldn't try to play one. It's not our role, nor our gift to psychoanalyze our team members. However, good leaders are good observers and ask good questions. In the early days of talent assessment on their team, they should be spending more time watching and asking questions, than they should on correcting.
For those team members that may be struggling through the Dunning-Kruger Effect, feedback based upon unbiased and patient observations is critical. No one can perform good, if they don't know what good looks like. Whether able to teach directly or able to guide on where to seek additional help to sharpen skills, a good leader provides a human approach to identifying and communicating areas of growth for their team members. Where there may be Imposter Syndrome on their team, a good leader uncovers their people's hidden talents, advocates for its blossoming, normalizes the self-doubt that their humble team member may be feeling, all while feeding confidence.
Who would have thought that a conversation on our 16th president could lead to Tom Cruise?
Spoiler Alert
In Top Gun: Maverick, we find Tom Cruise's Captain Pete Mitchell in a position he's not usually in: self-doubt
He is both over confident and highly competent at once. As a pilot, there is no peer. As a teacher, there is no one less qualified. While once an individual performer, he is now a leader and other's lives are at risk. Through all of this, there is one particular line that is used twice in the film. Early on, when his leaders are questioning his value to the NAVY, Maverick confidently responds, 'I'm where I'm meant to be'.
However, as he is put in a new position outside of his comfort zone (danger zone anyone?), he starts to doubt his ability to perform. To an extent, Maverick is living a lie. He teaches his student Rooster, 'don't think just do'. Yet, Cruise's character is struggling through his own cycle of over-analyzing and self-doubt. Ice Man, sensing his old friend may be working through symptoms similar to Impostor Syndrome, encourages Maverick to trust his talent, trust its power in his position as a teacher. Yet, it's Admiral Bates (Warlock) that helps affirm Maverick. Prior to the final mission, this quiet and observing leader calmly, but confidently declares to Cruise's character, 'You are where you're meant to be'.
It's a shame that many of the smartest, most talented, and humble people never get to truly enjoy their talent, feel the appreciation from others that good talent rewards, nor devote their heart to work in a manner which doesn't wear down their body, mind, or spirit.
Ask me why it's important to surround yourself with people and cultures that watch for, appreciate, and feed your talent? This is why.
Once again, as our great President said:
'Every man is proud of what he does well, and no man is proud of that he does not do well. With the former, his heart is in his work; and he will do twice as much of it with less fatigue'
Here's the interesting part:
Lincoln was not President at the time he gave this famous speech. Though he had already spent time as a legislator, he was still a practicing lawyer in Illinois. Surely, there were far more qualified people than Lincoln, to speak to current state of agriculture but his call sign was summoned given his unique reputation as a great speaker and communicator. Lincoln, recognizing his own talent and how that talent could serve not only the interests of others, but that of his own pocket, was PAID to give this speech. He wasn't ashamed to feed the talent that fed him.
If it's good enough for Honest Abe, I say, it's good enough for us.
-Sam
-If you are struggling with your place and position and looking for guidance on your next role, reach out to me.