Overcoming Self-Serving Bias: A Guide for Aspiring CEOs
Think about this common set of research findings: when polled, 88% of U.S. adults claim they are better-than-average drivers. When asked to rank their own interpersonal skills, 25% of students place themselves in the top 1% of their peer group. When couples estimate their individual contributions to household work, the combined total they claim almost always tops 100%.
All of these outcomes are statistically impossible, but they are perfect illustrations of a universal human tendency: we are innately wired to overestimate our own abilities and contributions. For any executive working toward a CEO role, it is critical to build the humility to recognize this inherent self-serving bias and actively counteract it, by following these core steps:
Objectively compare your current capabilities to what the role actually requires
Systematically close your skill gaps and track your progress over time
Reject self-serving political maneuvering throughout the process
What the organization needs from its next leader
Assessing your fit starts with gaining clarity on what the company actually needs from its next top leader. Brad Smith, former CEO of financial software giant Intuit, uses a horse racing analogy to frame this idea: “We see so few Triple Crown winners because every race is run on a different track,” he explains. “The Kentucky Derby is nothing like the Preakness, and both are very different from the Belmont Stakes. The right horse only wins when it is matched to the right track. If you are a candidate, the first question you need to ask yourself honestly is: What does this company need most right now? And do I already have that skill set today?”
To test if you have what is required and understand where you currently stand, break your assessment down into at least four core dimensions:
Breadth of experience and track record: This includes proven results like leading large-scale organizational transformation, owning end-to-end profit-and-loss outcomes, and representing the company to external stakeholders.
Knowledge and domain expertise: This covers strengths related to financial acumen, sales leadership, technology literacy, understanding of target markets, and insight into key industry trends.
Core leadership competencies: This includes high-level skills such as strategic thinking, consistent executive presence, cross-functional team building, and ongoing self-awareness.
Relationship strength and professional reputation: How are you perceived by internal stakeholders including your boss, peers, direct reports, and internal influencers? What is your standing with external groups such as investors, customers, suppliers, regulators, and community leaders? Most importantly, how do board members evaluate your qualifications?
Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, sums up success in this final dimension as whether you have genuine followership. “The best definition of a leader,” he observes, “is someone people are willing to follow.”
Consult external perspectives to cut through your blind spot
To break through the bias that distorts how you see your own skills, it is essential to seek out unfiltered perspectives from other people. This can include gathering direct feedback from mentors, trusted confidants, and peers, but in most cases you will get more honest, actionable results by having an independent third party collect full 360-degree feedback on your behalf.
That collector can be a trusted in-house colleague, but more often it is an experienced external executive coach. While some leaders see working with a coach as a sign of weakness, top performers point to professional sports as a clear counterexample: no elite athlete or championship team reaches the top tier without an outstanding coach.
Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq, shared her own experience building toward the top role: “For years before I became CEO, I completed regular 360 reviews and worked with a coach. My coach gathered all the feedback from stakeholders across the business, then we sat down together to walk through it. That process helped turn raw feedback into clear, actionable ideas for improvement.”
Robert Smith, founder and CEO of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, explains the unique value of this approach: “If you’re right-handed, you almost always have a weaker left hand. A great coach helps you answer: What is your weak hand? What skills do you struggle with that you can still learn to improve? And what resources do you need to get better?”
Frame skill building as an ongoing learning journey
Once you have completed your assessment across the four dimensions and gathered unfiltered feedback from others, you are ready to start building the capabilities you lack. You should frame this work as an ongoing learning journey, not a one-time fix. Effective learning journeys combine cycles of targeted action with regular progress check-ins and reflection with a small core group of trusted advisers.
Common activities for this process include long-term ongoing leadership coaching, participation in peer leadership forums and industry roundtables, knowledge exchanges and site visits to other high-performing companies, curated targeted reading lists, deep-dive briefings from subject-matter experts, and intentional on-the-job opportunities to gain experience and build key relationships. These opportunities can range from engaging with the media and presenting to the board to representing the company at external industry and community events.
