overconfident vs underconfident

[babyboeing400]

assuming there are no grey areas,is it better to be overconfident or underconfident during normal line operations? :)

[fireflybob]

I would say "justifiably" confident.

I also think that as you get more experienced the more you realise that most of it's "grey" !

[JW411]

Having spent most of my flying career training and examining I have to say that my perfect man is someone who's idea of their ability is lower than my idea of their ability.

Anyone who comes over as supremely overconfident is going to fall on his/her ar*e for sure.

Nicely confident goes down very well.

[low n' slow]

I'll get hung out to dry for thisone but here goes:

I believe that being overconfident will get you further than being underconfident. If you're undeconfident you'll do nothing right in the belief that you will do everything wrong.

That said, I don't believe that an overconfident person will get much further than the undeconfident because he/she will trip up on something they took for "insignificant to the operation". But they will get further than someone that is underconfident. That in turn may lead to bigger consequences when the s?¤%t hits the fan though.

If I may choose from anywhere in between, I would like to have a healthy balance.

/LnS

[babyboeing400]

nicely said guys....stereotype has it that pilots are a bunch of overconfident men(or supremely confideny..hehe)..especially the fighter jocks..:ok:

[JW411]

Your comment about "fighter jocks" being supremely overconfident is interesting.

Has it ever occured to you that the required profile for a military pilot and that for an airline pilot is quite different?

If we were to use a Professor Eysenck neurological inventory test (just for example) the military are looking for pilots who fall under the stable extrovert profile whilst an ideal airline pilot might be closer to the stable introvert side.

The military has no time for stable introvert pilots. When the boss comes in first thing in the morning and says "we are going to bomb Glasgow this afternoon" the last thing he needs is a bunch of pilots who start deciding whether this is altogether wise or not. That is the job of the politicians, the military pilot is there to get on with it.

What he needs is a bunch of guys who are dying to point out that it is their turn for the napalm!

That is not to say that either type of pilot cannot adjust to some extent as the likes of World War II proved but you really must try and compare like with like.

[bfisk]

Both ways has their advantages and disadvantages the way I see it. I havn't had any MCC training yet, though, so take this with a grain of salt.

Being underconfident is dangerous, because it may lead others into the belief that you are not able to perform your duties. As "fresh meat" one's surely not as competent as say, a senior captain, but one still needs to emphasize that one's a resource. To resign and tell the world that "I don't make a difference" is not only blantaly wrong, but also discurteous to yourself.

Being overconfident is dangerous in the opposite way; it may lead others into the belief that your skill level is higher than it actually is. We all know that admitting incapacity is difficult, but don't you agree that it's important to tell when one is overloaded with duties? Being a "i can do this, because I'm the best" is defenitely something we don't want to see in the cockpit, and we need to admit our shortcomings.

And when the situation arises, and the mask falls, others will be able to tell. And what do you all think of persons that act up one moment, just to be someone completely different the next? Now that's one thing to ruin the cockpit atmosphere.


I think we all should be humbe to those more experienced to us, yet professional enough to stand up for our opinions and knowledge. How about just being honest, with a spine? :)

[clicker]

Quietly confident that sooner or later, at work, I'll **** up. :\

Just as well I don't fly but same rule applies. :ok:

[Clandestino]

Balance it as much as you can, but if you have to leave the perfect balance point, better be slightly (but very slightly) underconfident. As pointed by bfisk, underconfidence might lead others to believe you're incompetent. What he didn't tell us is that overconfidence can put you at odds with something much more dangerous than your colleagues or superiors, e.g. terrain in your flightpath.

[Capt Claret]

bfisk

I'd suggest that the greater danger of being over confident isn't to .... lead others into the belief that your skill level is higher than it actually is.

rather it leads the over confident to believe that their ... skill level is higher than it actually is. :eek:

[saudipc-9]

It is the over confident pilot who is most likely to cause a problem.

The over confident pilot is one who will find themselves or rather put themselves into a situation which requires skills that they do not possess. They are also more difficult to manage in the multi crew environment as they believe they know what they are doing but need to be reigned in on a regular basis.

The under confident pilot is least likely to put themselves into a corner because they will try to avoid a situation which requires skills that they do not possess or think they do not possess. They are also much more easily managed in the multi crew environment as they can be coddled a bit and will probably ask a question rather than make a mistake.

Over and under confidence in an emergency situation are equaly dangerous and so cancel each other out.

my 2 cents worth

[Brian Abraham]

Quote from publisher/author/747 Capt, Len Morgan, now deceased, "I wouldn't want to fly with a pilot who didn't privately think that he was the best in the room". Bit hard if the likes of John Farley or Red Arrows were in the room I suspect.

[bfisk]

bfisk

I'd suggest that the greater danger of being over confident isn't to

rather it leads the over confident to believe that their :eek:
Errr... That's a good point indeed. I did mean that, but I see that my wording was a bit inaccurate. Let's put it this way: if A is over-confident; B may give A tasks that A is unable to accomplish. A's failure to admit to his/hers own shortcomings, is the dangerous situation.

(I think we agree.)

[Capt Claret]

If A is smart, when he gives the overconfident B a task, he'll closely monitor B's performance to reassure himself that the confidence placed in B isn't misplaced. :8