The Power of the Underdog

Research by assistant management professor Samir Nurmohamed reveals the advantages of being an underdog (or at least believing you’re one).

Professor Samir Nurmohamed standing in front of a whiteboard.

1

The Haters Are Your Motivators

Ever feel like an underdog? Sometimes when people lack confidence in you, the drive to prove them wrong can not only improve your performance but also gives you a powerful narrative for moving forward.
2

What Is an Underdog?

The expression originally came from dogfighting; the “underdog” was the loser. For us humans, if we perceive that others have low expectations of us, we’re underdogs.
3

Flip the Script

When others doubt our capabilities, it helps you to undermine the source of those low expectations — say, by revealing a hidden skill that your detractors didn’t know you had, or by showing that they aren’t the experts they’re purported to be.
4

Fuel for Success

If the source of your low expectations is an authoritative one — a respected supervisor, for example — that may be hard to overcome. But if your doubters aren’t so credible, their opinions can fuel high performance.
5

How to Manage Underdogs

If belief in your team is low, counter those middling expectations by building confidence that the right skills and resources are in place despite what the critics say. Proving others wrong can be a strong motivator and confidence builder.
6

Crafting a Narrative

To leverage low expectations, define the theme of your underdog narrative and align it with your identity. Were you discriminated against? Misunderstood? Did you prove the doubters wrong? The story you tell can motivate not just you, but others as well.

You may think that low expectations undermine confidence and hinder performance, but according to a new series of studies from Wharton assistant management professor Samir Nurmohamed, that’s not always the case. In this lecture from his Power and Politics in Organizations class, he argues that “underdog expectations” aren’t always detrimental. The need to prove others wrong, he says, can be a great motivator.

You may have heard that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school’s junior varsity basketball team; years later, as one of the greatest NBA players ever, Jordan himself is still telling that story. Even after achieving success, Microsoft and Apple wanted to be viewed as underdogs; Nurmohamed mentions how Bill Gates quipped that the day Microsoft stopped doing so, its competitors would eat its lunch. From David and Goliath to Truman vs. Dewey to the Miracle on Ice, underdog stories are embedded in our culture. “We live in a world where low expectations are all around us,” Nurmohamed says.

In a study examining the effects of prior discrimination on employment, Nurmohamed’s team had job seekers craft either a favorite narrative (a time when others were confident in them and they were confident in themselves) or an underdog narrative (a time when they defied others’ low expectations). The result? The ramifications of prior experiences of discrimination on finding employment were weaker for job seekers who crafted underdog narratives than those who developed favorite narratives. The underdog narratives were more beneficial for self-confidence.

Of course, when it comes to what others think of us, high expectations tend to be more helpful. But Nurmohamed also found that if you can undermine the credibility of someone’s underdog expectations for you — for example, by demonstrating skills they didn’t know you had or successfully challenging their expertise — it’s likely to lead to higher performance.

So how can managers best leverage the underdog effect? By striking a good balance and avoiding the “double-edged sword” of trying to prove others wrong. “You need to point to some successes or a path forward,” says Nurmohamed. “If low expectations are out there, don’t just ignore them, but point to them. Then you as a leader have to make the team feel like they can succeed.”

Published as “At the Whiteboard With Samir Nurmohamed” in the Spring/Summer 2022 issue of Wharton Magazine.