I am continuing a series of posts analyzing my work as a coach in banking teams.

Oh, the psychologists…I really love the topic of psychotypes and even think about getting a specialized education. Listening to the chapter about the Dunning-Kruger effect, that's what I thought about.

Briefly about the essence:The Dunning-Kruger effect is when newcomers to a topic overestimate their skills (due to a lack of understanding of the depth of the subject), while experts, on the contrary, underestimate their competence (thinking that if it's easy for them, then so do others).

An example from IT:

Imagine Jun, who has mastered the basics of programming and written a couple of scripts. At the "peak of stupidity," he can criticize the architecture of the project without seeing the nuances. Later, when faced with difficult tasks, he realizes how little he knows — and confidence will become adequate.

How does this manifest itself in work?:We often find ourselves thinking: "Since I'm an expert in X, I'll figure out related Y." Especially in cross-functional teams: the front—end knows the interfaces, the tester knows his scripts... Everyone is in their own niche.

But roles like Agile Coach or Product Owner are a trap! A person who is an expert in research or processes suddenly decides that he understands everything. If you don't allocate areas of responsibility, problems begin.

The solution:Do not hesitate to attract narrow specialists. For example:

• I know Jira well, but for complex tasks I go to the "guru" from the team.
• At our bank, specialized experts are always called in to analyze Customer Experience (CX).

About the myths of experts:Have you all heard about 10,000 hours to become an expert? Until you have gained them, use the experience of those who have already passed the path. Yes, you can figure it out yourself, but it's better to have a mentor. Observe, learn, and avoid the trap of imaginary competence.

(I think I've been into it myself a couple of times lately.)

What I do to avoid succumbing to the effect:

• I ask for honest one-on-one feedback. I also call it "download for the asshole" 
• I'm having a retro session with the team and I ask you to point out the moments when I "turned on the know-it-all"
• I analyze my activities once a month (I usually write posts on social networks).
• If it seems that I have become an expert, I go to tell the public about it. A reaction (hate or confession) will quickly put everything in its place.

Bye, everyone! See you later

P.S. Another consequence of the effect is the "curse of knowledge": Experts think that tasks that are simple for them are just as simple for others. But more on that in the next post...

And how do you catch yourself on the Dunning-Kruger effect? Share it in the comments!