We Already Do That: How overconfidence can keep school leaders from seeing what needs to improve
“We already do that.”
I hear this phrase frequently in my work with schools. Sometimes it reflects a practice that is well established. Other times, it is the beginning of a conversation that needs to go deeper.
We already provide meaningful feedback. We already have a positive school culture. We already communicate clear expectations. We already give teachers a voice.
Perhaps we do. But how consistently? For whom? And would the people experiencing our leadership describe it the same way?
In Improving Instruction Together, I describe occasions when principals rated their teacher teams as functioning at high levels. Once I began working alongside those teams, I sometimes observed gaps between the principal’s assessment and the actual practice.
The principal’s confidence was sincere. The assessment still needed revision.
That gap matters well beyond teacher collaboration. It can influence how leaders understand instruction, staff morale, family engagement, and students’ sense of belonging.
When confidence gets ahead of understanding
School leadership requires confidence. Principals make difficult decisions, communicate direction, and help people move forward when the outcome is uncertain.
Overconfidence becomes a concern when our certainty exceeds what we can reasonably support.
Researchers Don Moore and Paul Healy distinguish three forms of overconfidence: overestimating our performance, believing we perform better than others, and being excessively certain about the accuracy of our beliefs. In school leadership, these distinctions offer a useful way to examine the assumptions we bring to our work.
A principal might overestimate how consistently teachers understand school priorities. Another might assume the school’s culture is stronger than that of neighboring schools. A third might feel certain that staff members are comfortable raising concerns without having asked them.
These are possibilities to examine, not diagnoses to assign. The purpose is to become more accurate about the school we lead.
A few positive examples can become the whole story
Imagine a principal who believes family communication is excellent. The school sends a weekly newsletter, hosts well-attended events, and receives appreciative messages from several parents.
Those are encouraging signs. They do not tell the entire story.
Some families may struggle to access the newsletter. Others may feel comfortable attending a celebration but uncertain about raising a concern. Families who rarely respond may have experiences the principal has not yet heard. The same issue can arise with staff voice. A leader hears candid feedback from a few trusted teachers and concludes that everyone feels comfortable speaking openly.
Before making that conclusion, the leader could ask: Whose perspective am I hearing regularly? Whose perspective is missing?
“We already do that” deserves a second question
When a practice sounds familiar, it is easy to assume it is established.
A school may have discussed student belonging extensively. That does not establish how students experience it. Teachers may have attended training on feedback. That does not establish what feedback looks like across classrooms. An announcement, a training session, and consistent practice represent different stages of improvement. When someone says, “We already do that,” a useful response is:
“Let’s take a closer look at where it is working and where it still needs support.”
That invitation acknowledges existing strengths while keeping the conversation open.
Build correction into your leadership
Leaders can take several practical steps to examine their assumptions.
- Ask questions that invite more than reassurance. “How are things going?” may produce a quick, polite answer. Try asking, “What is harder than it needs to be?” or “Where have my expectations been unclear?”
- Listen beyond your usual circle. Include newer teachers, support staff, families who participate less frequently, and students whose experiences may differ from those you hear about most often.
- Define what established practice looks like. If you believe the school has a strong culture of professional learning, describe the behaviors that would make that claim visible. A shared definition gives people something concrete to discuss.
- Explain what you changed after receiving feedback. Asking for input creates an opportunity. Following through shows people that their input matters. Even when you cannot act on a suggestion, explain your reasoning.
- Model revision. A principal can say, “I thought our communication was clear. I am hearing that it wasn’t, and I need to adjust.” That statement demonstrates the kind of learning we ask of everyone else.
Leave room to learn
Experience provides valuable judgment. It also gives us familiar explanations that deserve occasional examination. The challenge is to remain confident enough to lead and curious enough to reconsider.
Before concluding that a practice is fully established, pause. Talk with the people experiencing it. Look for variation. Ask what might change your understanding. The next time you hear yourself say, “We already do that,” add one more sentence:
“Let’s find out how well.”
References
The research distinction is from Moore and Healy’s The Trouble With Overconfidence (2008); the school examples apply that framework to leadership.
Ventura, S. (2025). Improving instruction together: Leading achievement teams and PLCs. ASCD.