By Cynthia M Piccolo
Overestimating one’s abilities can be a particularly serious problem in the life sciences, where an incorrect research and development can have serious consequences. There are two types of over-estimators: the innocent and the not-so-innocent.
The innocent are those with education, but with little or no experience, and who are very excited as they begin their new career. As someone I know put it, when she graduated from her program: “I was so excited by all the magic things that I could do to fix people!” But then, she says, with experience, she realized that a lot of things she was taught didn’t always work, and there was no magic.
These innocent over-estimators grow out of it. That is, the problem solves itself as experience increases. (And they may even decide that the one thing they know is how little they know!) Moreover, in most cases the innocent over-estimators are open to being called on their errors because they love their careers, want to learn, and want to excel in their fields.
But then there is the second type: those who are less innocent. The phrase that best applies to these over-estimators is “a little bit of knowledge is dangerous.”
This type of over-estimator does not tend to grow out of it. They believe that they already know everything – and they often believe that they should be in charge.
Some typical signs of the not-so-innocent over-estimator:
They don’t worry about the details. Details tend to expose their superficial knowledge and lack of real experience around an issue.
Obviously, the seriousness of overestimation varies – does it impact patients, “just” workplace morale, or both? And what can you do?
Be aware of these people, and:
