Have you ever been in a situation where you are talking to someone – whether you know them or not – and a ‘hot topic’ comes up and they begin giving you their version of events, putting their slant on it and offering their opinion throughout the spiel? And you’ve known something about the same topic, maybe something else in addition to what they have said or maybe you know more about it than them.
There’s a lot going on, in every aspect of our industry. We all want to be as knowledgeable as we can be about those things that directly impact us, our families or our friends and industry colleagues. But we can’t always be full bottle on everything. I think it’s time a good few people have a think about what they say, write and share about big issues that impact others. We often slam people/groups outside of agriculture for being ill-informed, but within our own ranks there are a number of ‘keyboard warriors’ who would do well to know a bit more about what they make comment on.
Harvard Business School this March, released a research paper on ‘Learning a Little About Something Makes Us Overconfident’.
‘One common theory is that beginners start off overconfident. They start a new task of job as ‘unconscious incompetents,’ not knowing what they don’t know. Their inevitable early mistakes and miscues prompt them to become conscious of their shortcomings. Our work, however, suggests the opposite. Absolute beginners can be perfectly conscious and cautious about what they don’t know; the unconscious incompetence is instead something they grow into. A little experience replaces their caution with a false sense of competence.’ – (Harvard Business Review www.hbr.org March 29 2018)
Can you relate to seeing this in action anywhere? Or maybe have felt it yourself - that burst of confidence that is so overpowering and great, but that could also cloud your thoughts for a time. Most of the issues we face relate directly to our livelihoods, which often evoke a lot of emotions when they flare up. An emotional state is not often the best one for clear communication to occur, and I have seen a few instances when a quick comment, response or phone call has been detrimental to the cause.
There are two sides to the coin. Take responsibility for the information you receive and have access to and give it the critical assessment it requires (to determine if it is a reliable source), and second to that, when in a situation like that mentioned at the beginning, give your ‘critical lens’ a polish over the person and see if you reckon they really know all their stuff. Have they observed a small part of it? Do they have the entire picture?
The real danger in this situation, is if you are a person who knows nothing about the topic being discussed, by which this conversation becomes your first piece of knowledge on it, right or wrong. What could be the consequences of that?
