Know-it-all Behavior Explained by Adam Grant

e’ve all come across a “know-it-all,” as my friend Agustín calls them. A “know-it-all” understands everything, but as it's usually said: “They know everything and understand nothing.”

It’s a peculiar experience when you engage in conversation with someone who bombards you with absolute statements on a variety of topics.

These statements are only lightly coated with genuine knowledge. “Expert Syndrome” (with all due love and respect to my brothers-in-law, who don’t fit this stereotype) partly embodies this habit.

You don’t see them for six months. However, they know better than you which car to buy, where to rent your vacation home, where to find the most delicious paella, or the ultimate barbecue secret.

Adam Grant and the Resistance to Change

Adam Grant is a psychologist, author, and speaker who gained fame with his first book, Originals (which deserves an entire post of its own). In his second book, Think Again, he explores and explains why people resist changing their minds, speak without true knowledge (while thinking they know), or underestimate decision-making complexity.

I’m not here to summarize the book. If you’re into these topics, read it-it's worth your time. What interests me is delving into a crucial point that most people rarely reflect on: Why is it so hard to change our minds?

This is a crucial topic for me. I tend to hold strong opinions, but I do not hold them lightly. I’ve always believed it’s essential to stay flexible in our thinking because the world changes often—just like we do—and knowing how to adapt is crucial.

Adaptation as the Key to Growth

Adaptation is fundamental. Being able to adjust, reinvent yourself, and grow as a person or professional often depends on knowing how to let go of certain beliefs and embrace new ones. However, the process of transitioning from one to another must make sense—otherwise, we’d lose our minds.

As an entrepreneur, I naturally learned how to do this. I always had a vision of what the world might become, but I stopped trying to impose my ideas on the future long ago. I believe it’s better to let the future reveal itself. It’s better to observe than to impose, while also understanding that our biases can blind us.

Data Over Narrative

Data trumps narrative. I create a product, company, or service and then look at the data to see what it indicates to me. If it tells me I’m wrong, I verify it. If it tells me I’m right... I verify it too. If it’s the former, I analyze, reflect, adjust, and repeat the process. No one can learn what they already know. That’s why it’s imperative to be able to not be sure. To say, “I don’t know.”

Adam Grant draws a line between two syndromes:

1. Impostor Syndrome, where a person feels like they’re in a position or situation they don’t deserve and sees themselves as a fraud (even if others don’t notice).
2. Narcissistic Syndrome, where someone believes they know everything and the universe revolves around them.

As with most things, virtue lies in balance—knowing how talented you are without believing you’re better than you are. The most effective recipe for balance is humility. Or at least, that’s what Dr. Grant prescribes.

Real Impact and Humility

I agree. I’ve worked with brilliant people. They were all highly skilled, but the ones who truly made a real impact were those who reconsidered their positions. To admit when they were wrong, to be approachable, and to humanize themselves by accepting their own shortcomings.

The world is changing rapidly, and the signs are everywhere: the leap toward digitalization, virtualization, shifts in economic models, new ways of working… Everything points to an economy based on creating value through specialized knowledge in specific fields. To a hyper-flexible job market. To the constant need for adaptation in an ever-changing environment and continuous learning.

Letting Go of Preconceived Ideas

Some were born into this world and adapt to it effortlessly. Others, like me, come from a previous and very different experience. If we want to find our place in this new world, we’ll need to let go of preconceived ideas. We'll need to reassess and understand the utility of our traditional values, and, with humility, accept that we were wrong about certain things.

Where to find me

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NachoLucea
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nacholucea/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6vRcumzUfp1vL55aUdlmtg
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ignacio-lucea