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When plotting their career trajectories, young professionals are often encouraged to follow their passion. And in the entrepreneurial world, passion is often seen as a key ingredient for success. But figures such as Elon Musk, known for his passion as well as arrogance, show that this drive is not without its perils—including what researchers call "performance overconfidence."

So how can the passionate drive in the workplace be harnessed without backfiring? The answer may lie in understanding the connection between passion and overconfidence—and how managers can use that understanding, according to new research published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

"Overconfidence is a really pernicious form of bias," says Erica Bailey, assistant professor in the Management of Organizations group at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. Bailey and a team of researchers conducted a series of studies with more than 1,000 participants.

"We wanted to explain some of passion's goods and ills by exploring how passion may relate to overconfidence," she says.

For example, if you're an entrepreneur, the chances that your business succeeds are low. "So maybe in those cases you really need passion to overcome the barriers to entry," she says. "But there are other careers where you really need to be cautious about passion, and you need to manage it."

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