At least an unchecked ego benefits someone.

Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University had an interesting news release headline today:

Boosting Self-Esteem Can Backfire in Decision-Making

According to the release, the group’s research indicates that previously-received praise can make an employee recommit to a bad decision rather than admit a mistake and try a new approach.

I’m sure there’s some truth to that – lots of people don’t like to admit mistakes.

I once assembled an IKEA armoire so that it was unquestionably crooked and whenever someone pointed it out, I said, “Well of course it looks like it’s leaning when you’re looking at it from over there – at a distance!”

But my insistence had more to do with me being completely stubborn and less to do with someone complimenting me on a job well done on the nightstand the day before.

Here’s the thing: some people are just plain bad at admitting mistakes. And other people are bad at realizing that their employees are bad decision-makers.

So maybe the best thing to do isn’t necessarily to question the effect of doling out praise or compliments, but just not let the person in question make any more decisions.

After all, isn’t that the Kellogg School’s main message:

“In one study, participants, acting as senior managers of a large investment bank, received feedback about how rational they were before revisiting a hiring decision. After learning that the person they had hired was not working out, they overwhelmingly recommended spending additional time and money on training, rather than simply acknowledging the poor decision and cutting their losses,” reads the release.

In that case, I hope someone keeps inflating the ego. At least someone wins.