Too Much or Too Little Confidence in Business: Recognizing and Understanding the Dunning-Kruger Effect and Impostor Syndrome

In many organizations, you encounter people who either appear incredibly self-confident—often overly so—or quiet and reserved, even though they deliver excellent work. At first glance, these differences might seem like mere personality traits. Psychologically, however, there is often something deeper at play: the Dunning-Kruger effect on one side, and Impostor Syndrome on the other. Both extremes influence decision-making, team collaboration, and how achievements are perceived.

Dunning-Kruger: Overconfident Colleagues Who Overestimate Their Abilities

Employees with inflated self-confidence exude authority, make quick decisions, and present solutions with conviction. They often believe their contribution is crucial to success—even if they only cover a specialized part of a project.

Typical thoughts and statements:

• “I know exactly how it should be done—everyone else just doesn’t get it.”

• “If I don’t handle this, everything will go wrong.”

• “Without my work, the team would be lost.”

  
  

Emotional and social impact:

• Dominance in meetings, while other voices go unheard

• Stress and frustration among colleagues

• Difficulty accepting criticism or admitting mistakes

  
  

Measurable indicators – why they matter:

Objective metrics help reveal whether self-assessments are realistic. They expose the gap between overconfidence and reality—a first step toward reflection.

Examples:

• KPIs vs. self-assessment: Do perceived capabilities align with results?

• Error rates, work quality, customer satisfaction

• Peer feedback on collaboration

  
  

Solutions – how to respond:

Mentoring, peer feedback, and reflective exercises can gently correct overconfidence. Perspective shifts and conscious engagement with feedback help employees assess their limitations more realistically.

Impostor Syndrome: Insecure Colleagues Who Underestimate Their Abilities

People with Impostor Syndrome are often highly competent but constantly doubt themselves. Despite demonstrable achievements, they feel their success is “luck” and fear being exposed as frauds.

Typical thoughts and statements:

• “I just got lucky that it worked out.”

• “Someone else could have done it better.”

• “If I make a mistake, people will see that I’m not capable.”

  
  

Emotional and social impact:

• Persistent tension, perfectionism, procrastination

• Holding back in meetings despite valuable ideas

• Invisibility in the team despite high competence

  
  

Measurable indicators – why they matter:

Metrics reveal the gap between self-perception and actual performance, helping individuals realize their doubts often don’t reflect reality and boosting confidence.

Examples:

• Number of completed projects, achieved goals, client feedback

• Qualifications, certificates, or technical assessments

• Peer and leadership feedback

  
  

Solutions – how to respond:Success journals, cognitive restructuring, and gradually taking on challenges strengthen self-perception.

Peer exchanges show that similar doubts are normal and provide emotional relief.

When Both Extremes Meet in a Team

Teams with both overconfident and insecure members often face subtle conflicts: dominant voices make decisions, while quieter experts withdraw. The result: ideas are lost, decisions become one-sided, and successes are misattributed.

Typical business scenarios:

• Loud colleagues present solutions in areas they only partially understand

• Quieter colleagues contribute crucial ideas but do not voice them

• Success stories are incorrectly attributed to the most visible team members

  
  

Measurable team indicators – why they matter:

Metrics objectively show who contributes what and how effective collaboration is. They help uncover distortions caused by overconfidence or self-doubt.

Examples:

• KPIs, project goals, adherence to time and budget

• Innovations, suggestions, documented know-how

• Team satisfaction and collaboration feedback

• Analysis of individual contributions

  
  

Solutions – how teams can respond:

A structured feedback culture, clear role definitions, and targeted reflection exercises ensure all voices are heard.

Psychological support through coaching or mentoring can strengthen both overconfident and insecure team members and improve collaboration.

Strategies for Teams and Leaders

1. Establish a feedback culture: recognize achievements equally and provide constructive criticism.

2. Define roles clearly: assign tasks based on competence, not volume of voice.

3. Make successes visible: document and acknowledge all contributions.

4. Raise awareness: educate employees about the Dunning-Kruger effect and Impostor Syndrome.

5. Targeted exercises: reflection workshops, peer feedback rounds, perspective-taking roleplays.

   
   

Support from psychologists and coaches:

• One-on-one sessions for gentle reflection and self-awareness

• Mentoring and peer coaching for realistic self-perception

• Team interventions for respectful communication and fair accountability

  
  

Too much or too little confidence significantly affects teams and decision-making. Overconfident colleagues overestimate their abilities, while insecure employees underestimate them. Objective metrics, feedback, and psychological interventions help reveal the gap between self-perception and reality. Teams that understand these patterns can optimize collaboration, motivation, and knowledge sharing—and make the full potential of all employees visible.