How can you avoid overconfidence when making decisions?

Overconfidence is a state which makes the discretion and analyzing power of a person weaker. An overconfident guy may feel overpower and thus overlook many aspects of a situation, so to avoid overconfidence following things can be adopted: 👉🏻 Always jot down each and every aspect of a particular situation 👉🏻 Listen to everyone ideas and views 👉🏻 Do research of all aspects associated to a situation 👉🏻 Analyze information critically 👉🏻 Think twice before reaching to conclusion and making any decision

It's critical to recognize inherent ambiguity and refrain from assuming total information in order to minimize overconfidence in decision-making. Blind spots can be found by seeking out different viewpoints and promoting disagreement, and learning from past mistakes is a vital tool. A balanced viewpoint can be maintained by making use of decision aids, establishing reasonable objectives, and remaining receptive to lifelong learning.By regularly challenging presumptions, and keeping in mind past experiences can be very helful. Also , keeping an eye on circumstances, and reviwing all possible aspects in mind can be a good technique.

Expressed confidence in your perspective without being overbearing of others. Ask questions to encourage alternative perspectives. And, remain open to listening to others. Stay focused on the desired outcomes. Create a priority checklist and consider only those that meet the criteria. Challenge the knowledge, if any, that those perspectives are based on.

If I have an idea then I will seek the expert opinions of those around me who have demonstrated results. In sales, we often think of a few approaches. There's selling through logic, emotion, or both, typically thought of as product features and facts vs stories of success and outcome. I hypothesise that it's down to the recipient as to what approach is best. My senior colleagues have differing opinions but lean towards stories. So, I've tried both and find that stories grab and hold the attention better than facts, figures, and technicalities, but they're necessary, so focus more on stories initially and lead into 'logic' later.

There is a slight difference between confidence and overconfidence. Discuss all the scenarios and get some feedback from others. See the outcomes with other people's perspectives and re-evaluate the outcome, if necessary, before taking the final decision.

In one of my previous jobs we introduced 'personal development Fridays' where each team member dedicated a few hours to learning something new, whether it's a skill relevant to their role or something more broadly like a mindfulness technique. This commitment to growth improved our team's overall skill set and morale. Also, in my experience joining a professional group outside of my immediate field has been enlightening. It exposed me to different ways of thinking and solving problems. Another thing I found helpful was establishing a 'mentor-mentee' relationship within the workplace. Having a mentor to guide and challenge me, as well as being a mentor to someone else, has greatly accelerated my understanding of different perspectives.

One time at work we started using a 'confidence scale' during project planning sessions. Team members rate their confidence in various aspects of the project on a scale from 1 to 10. This has helped us identify areas needing more research or planning. Also, in my experience keeping a decision-making journal has been beneficial. For each major decision, I note down my level of confidence and the rationale behind it. Reviewing this over time helps in understanding when my confidence was well-placed and when caution would have been wiser. Another thing I found helpful was implementing a 'pre-mortem' analysis for projects. This is where you imagine the project has failed and work backward to understand what might lead to this failure.

It's so important to acknowledge your past mistakes and the limitations of your knowledge and expertise. And you could then leverage tools and frameworks that reduces bias and facilitates decision-making.