Comments on: Networking

By: Willy Franzen

Willy Franzen — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 19:47:37 +0000

Usually later lesson help clarify what you learn in the earlier ones. Does your question still stand?

By: Thomas

Thomas — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:42:47 +0000

Maybe I don’t fully grasp the exercise, but I don’t completely see the connection between this exercise and improving my ability to network with people. I completed this assignment more as a strengths/weaknesses chart. My weaknesses scored lower than my strengths in the third column. In that manner, I see how knowing your strengths and weaknesses can improve your self-awareness and thus improving how well you can “sell” yourself to a potential employer.

Could you help clarify this for me Mr. Seiden. I appreciate your help!

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 26 May 2010 20:44:49 +0000

Wouldn’t it be that only 49% could be above average since 50% is exactly average? So in order to be above average you would need to be at least 1 point above it?

By: Jason Seiden

Jason Seiden — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:37:34 +0000

I wish more women would enter math and science—they *are* good at it.

There was a great article a few years ago in the New Yorker or the NYTimes magazine on the problems US schools have teaching math… I can’t find it now. It was great; the article suggested that we don’t encourage creativity in math the way we do with writing. As a result, students never even think to go beyond the basics.

By: Ella

Ella — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:44:14 +0000

Thanks for the extra information. Actually the post inspired me to look up the Lake Woebegon effect and find out what I said was wrong. But I had already posted my comment!

I’ve heard of it going the other way though. In mathematics boys supposedly tend to overrate their abilities but girls underrate theirs, and it varies with all the cultural factors you can imagine. Unfortunately I think this leads girls to avoid mathematics and perpetuate the stereotype that they aren’t good at it because being good at mathematics takes effort.

In any case you’re right – people aren’t very good at accurate self-assessment.

By: Jason Seiden

Jason Seiden — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:13:17 +0000

Ella, you’re too kind. The studies that show (consistently) that people overestimate themselves ask people to rate their own performance *on a given scale.*

Studies correct for the idea that there may be multiple interpretations of, say, intelligence, by defining specifically the scale on which they want people to consider themselves.

When I do exec assessments, I do this myself. I break intelligence down into factual and conceptual thinking skills. Within those two buckets, I break the concept of intelligence down further. And what I’m saying is that at the most granular level—be it problem solving, time management, strategic thinking, analytic ability, synthesis skills, creative thinking, business awareness, math skills, or what have you—whichever scale we pick, people will overestimate themselves.

Your theory is a good one—but one that the science has corrected for.

By: Ella

Ella — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:16:55 +0000

Only 50% of people can be above the median, but there might be other definitions of average.

If you imagine that ‘intelligence’ is something that you can have various quantities of that can be measured in some way other than my ranking you in the population, something you could put a number on, then it’s very easy to imagine distributions where 85% of the population has an above-the-mean level of intelligence.

So perhaps this could also be a fact about how people conceptualize what intelligence is, and how they imagine it varies across the population.

By: Beverly Lorig

Beverly Lorig — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:08:59 +0000

Had to read this a couple of times to get to the point you wanted me to see.
Perhaps enhance with the full chart, include percentages, include your chosenstatements for improvement and the steps to be taken. In other words, complete the picture. For those who are quickly reading (!skimming!) the steps will not be obvious. Or perhaps, I am just really slow.