The Halo Competence Gap In construction
The Halo Competence Gap
The tendency to assume that a tradesperson who excels at one task will deliver the same quality in related work. This reflects the influence of the halo effect, where strong performance in one area obscures potential gaps in competence in another.
I have seen this numerous times in my career; plus, I have done this myself. Having the experience with a worker and or a company where they did great with one thing and I assumed they would handle the next task, job or thing just as well and it resulted in a poor outcome because I did not question my bias.
So, to effectively deal with this occasional problem, I have dubbed a theory, the Halo Competence Gap, it is combing two things into one.
- First the Halo Effect, the Halo effect is a Cognitive Bias discovered or coined by Psychologist Edward Throndike back in the early 1900s. This bias is defined as
The tendency to let one positive trait or performance influence our overall judgment of a person or thing.
- Second thing, the Circles of Competence coined by Charlie Munger, Warren Buffets partner in Berkshire Hathaway
Knowing the limits of what you truly understand—and staying within them when making decisions.
The idea here is that once you stray outside of your core area of what you do well, there is a considerable drop in terms of knowledge, skill and or ability to make good decisions about the thing.
The Halo Effect — In Real Terms
The Halo Effect is a cognitive bias where we assume that because someone is really good at one thing, they must be good at other related things too.
It sounds harmless—but in construction and building repairs, this is where people get burned.
The Circles of Competence – In real terms
So when this occurs and not being aware of how this affects your judgement and not understanding that even in one field that there can be a considerable drop off in competence/ skills with tradespeople from task to task, makes a difference in outcomes.
How It Actually Plays Out
Let’s say you have a guy that does a great job of repointing a brick wall. Now you have some concrete work you need done and think, well our mason just did a great job with that wall he surely can take care of the concrete work needed. When asked to do the additional work not wanting to disappoint the customer, he may say sure I can do that for you but does not think about the quality. To him, in his mind he will do the best he can, which should be sufficient and then subsequently does an average or subpar job
That’s the Halo Effect.
You’re taking one area of proven competence and extending it into areas that may be completely outside their true expertise.
A good company will mitigate this by knowing their staff’s strengths and weaknesses and put the correct people in place to complete the work. Or will decline to move ahead with the task since they know that is not what they typically perform. In addition, if the tradesperson is open and honest (which does not happen all the time) it will state ahead of time that this is out of their typical focus or strength.
Where It Gets Dangerous
Not all trades—or even scopes within the same trade—are created equal.
A contractor can be:
- Great at masonry
- Decent at sealants
- Average at waterproofing
- And completely out of their depth on roofing or below-grade systems
But the Halo Effect smooths all that over and makes it feel like they’re “great at everything.”
They’re not. Nobody is.
Why This Happens
It comes down to how our brains simplify decisions:
- We like consistency
- We trust past success
- We don’t want to re-vet new vendors every time
So we shortcut the thinking process and assume:
“Good once = good everywhere”
So, the key to this is to ask good questions to verify if the person or company is up to the task and can duplicate the good results from the first task or job.
Here are few good qualifying questions you can run by them.
- Do you typically do this type of work as well? Really how often?
- How often do you do this (xyz job)? Quantity can show competence
- Do you guys like to do this? This may show enthusiasm or lack, which can be a sign.
- Do you have the necessary equipment for that type of work? Qualifying questions that can show depth of knowledge
- You can do that as well as the first job? Setting an expectation can show any signs concerns
- Do you guys do this in house, or do you use another company to handle that type of work? Some companies will utilize another company to handle some of what they don’t perform in house. This is not necessarily bad, but you should know this, if this is their plan.
So be aware and vigilant, always ask questions to ensure that you will know what you are getting at the end of the day.
Also, please keep in mind that not everyone is a one trick pony and can potentially do several really great things, I have seen this from some talented guys in my time. And if they can perform a multitude of tasks or jobs well, then that is great. I just want you to be aware of this is not always the case and it can cost money, time and aggravation.