Can possessing power negatively affect decision-making quality?

In recent history, there are countless cases of leaders making poor decisions—from managing oil spills to managing brands. New research suggests over-confidence can be a potential barrier in effective decision-making.

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Researchers had subjects write detailed accounts of times when they had processed or lacked power. They then had them answer a series of factual questions and rate how confident they were about their answers. They found that the people who had been primed to think of themselves as more powerful had more confidence in their answers than the rest—and yet their answers were actually less accurate. Yes, “confidence in one’s answers was inversely correlated with accuracy.”

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This study highlights the importance of being a little more cautious and strategic in one’s decision-making, especially when there may be a potential for over-confidence. Fortunately, existing evidence suggests that leadership development programs can help in this regard.

The full article is available on Forbes.com and the research study can be found within Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.