Stop Feeling Yourself! Harvard Says Less Confidence Equals More Success

July 12th, 2012 - By Brande Victorian

That statement sounds backward as all get out and truthfully I’m not sure the justification provided in the Harvard Business Review will clear things up much better for you.

In a piece simply titled, “Less Confident People are More Successful,” Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, an international authority in personality profiling and psychometric testing, writes:

“After many years of researching and consulting on talent, I’ve come to the conclusion that self-confidence is only helpful when it’s low. Sure, extremely low confidence is not helpful: it inhibits performance by inducing fear, worry, and stress, which may drive people to give up sooner or later. But just-low-enough confidence can help you recalibrate your goals so they are (a) more realistic and (b) attainable.”

Dr. Chamorro-Premuzic then writes out three points to support his argument:

1. Lower self-confidence makes you pay attention to negative feedback and be self-critical: Most people get trapped in their optimistic biases, so they tend to listen to positive feedback and ignore negative feedback. Although this may help them come across as confident to others, in any area of competence (e.g., education, business, sports or performing arts) achievement is 10% performance and 90% preparation. Thus, the more aware you are of your soft spots and weaknesses, the better prepared you will be.

2. Lower self-confidence can motivate you to work harder and prepare more: If you are serious about your goals, you will have more incentive to work hard when you lack confidence in your abilities. In fact, low confidence is only demotivating when you are not serious about your goals.

3. Lower self-confidence reduces the chances of coming across as arrogant or being deluded. Although we live in a world that worships those who worship themselves — from Donald Trump to Lady Gaga to the latest reality TV “star” — the consequences of hubris are now beyond debate. According to Gallup, over 60% of employees either dislike or hate their jobs, and the most common reason is that they have narcissistic bosses. If managers were less arrogant, fewer employees would be spending their working hours on Facebook, productivity rates would go up, and turnover rates would go down.

Adding a little more meat in between each of the points, the professor’s overarching point is that the less confident you are in what you’re doing, the more likely you are to prepare and work hard at achieving something. That obviously makes sense but when it comes to actually performing the things prepared for in moments of low confidence, appearing more self-assured is definitely valuable. Perhaps this article would have been better written as a cautionary tale to being over-confident rather than advocating a low level of self-confidence but I guess we get the point.

What do you think about this argument? Is it valid?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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  • Miss D

    “The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.”

    People who are critical of their performance will work hard to do better. At work, I’m complimented for my work ethic, organization, skill, etc. but I don’t see it that way. It may come off as insecurity, and sometimes it is, but I feel I have so much to improve upon and so much yet to learn. This frame of mind keeps me humble as well. When someone is struggling, I don’t look down on them. I help as much as I can as long as they aren’t trying to take advantage.

  • FromUR2UB

    I find all of those reasons valid, though I’d expected the article to be based mainly on the third point. These days, it often seems people are rewarded more for popularity than competence. In my work environment, people who do the most schmoozing, go the farthest, the fastest, even when they don’t have the preferred credentials.

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  • Common Sense

    Low self-confidence and high self-confidence are at far ends of the spectrum. People on the low end are your women who put up with domestic abuse and claim they’re loved. People on the high end are your Antoine Dodsons, enough said. Simply put, find a happy medium. Love the hell out of yourself, and believe in what you can achieve. But at the same time, show some humility to actually achieve something. And know that if you’re not doing something as concrete as 1+1=2, there’s room for criticism and improvement. It’s not hard.

  • Hawaiian Breeze

    (1)
    I do agree that having low self-confidence does make one pay attention to
    negative feedback and be self-critical, but those very behaviors are what keeps
    one from gaining confidence.

    (2)
    One can be serious about their goals all they want, but if one is suffering
    from low self-confidence coupled with depression, it is extremely difficult to
    remain motivated.

    (3)
    Yes, lower self-confidence does reduce the chances of coming across as arrogant
    or being deluded.