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Yes, the old saw is at it again. New research is turning over on its back yet more conventional wisdom. Many of my emotional shortcomings (short fuse/anger), phobias, indulgences (salt) are proving to be either normal or critical to success – I knew I just had to wait it out…
This time it’s Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, an international authority in personality profiling and psychometric testing who posts “Less Confident People Are More Successful” in the HBR Blog Network. (Important Disclosure: HBR could post just about anything…unicorns, Sasquatch, Ogo Pogo, mermaids – - and I’m a buyer.) Here’s some excerpts from his post:
“…There is no bigger cliché in business psychology than the idea that high self-confidence is key to career success. It is time to debunk this myth. In fact, low self-confidence is more likely to make you successful…”
“…After many years of researching and consulting on talent, I’ve come to the conclusion…If your confidence is low, rather than extremely low, you stand a better chance of succeeding than if you have high self-confidence. There are three main reasons for this:”
1) Lower self-confidence makes you pay attention to negative feedback and be self-critical:
…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.
…Low self-confidence may turn you into a pessimist, but when pessimism teams-up with ambition it often produces outstanding performance. To be the very best at anything, you will need to be your harshest critic, and that is almost impossible when your starting point is high self-confidence. Exceptional achievers always experience low levels of confidence and self-confidence, but they train hard and practice continually until they reach an acceptable level of competence. Indeed, success is the best medicine for your insecurities…”
2) Lower self-confidence can motivate you to work harder and prepare more:
“…If you really want what you say you want, then, your low confidence will only make you work harder to achieve it — because it will indicate a discrepancy between your desired goal and your current state…”
3) Lower self-confidence reduces the chances of coming across as arrogant or being deluded.
…Lower self-confidence reduces not only the chances of coming across as arrogant, but also of being deluded. Indeed, people with low self-confidence are more likely to admit their mistakes — instead of blaming others — and rarely take credit for others’ accomplishments…
…if you are serious about your goals, low self-confidence can be your biggest ally to accomplish them. It will motivate you to work hard, help you work on your limitations, and stop you from being a jerk, deluded, or both. It is therefore time debunk the myth: High self-confidence isn’t a blessing, and low self-confidence is not a curse — in fact, it is the other way around.”
Read entire post @ The HBR Blog Network: “Less Confident People Are More Successful.”
Image Source: Thank you madamescherzo via icanread
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