A poll of executives and middle managers found that “an impossible 90% of respondents believe they’re in the top 10% of performers.” This does not surprise me. Many of these people probably were in the top 10% of performers. That’s why they were promoted. The problem is that they assume or desperately want to believe that they are still top performers at their new level.

Not every high school quarterback goes on to be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.