Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
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Re: Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
#2Because "to lead" is their only scope. and since the number of seats is limited, its not about gender. Some men are just more equal.
Re: Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
#3I have a confession to make - I'm not a particularly good leader. I don't like managing people, and I'm not terribly interested in learning how to do this. I have seen good managers in action, and have been under a few on occasion; I am not one of these people.
I do, however, have some very solid skills and have deployed them repeatedly at the handful of companies I have worked at in the past.
My main concern is knowing that down the road I'm probably going to get "stuck" in my career when I'm not interested in moving up and running a team. It seems like a trend lately to praise the IC and promise them the moon and stars, but I think this is mostly lip service to keep them around.
Re: Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
#4The more I read about this sort of thing (and read comments on these articles), the more I'm told that there are, in fact, innate gender differences, and the PC crowd is censoring important discussions. I'm starting to believe it, and I think that this article is an excellent example of the sort of politically-incorrect research we need to pay attention to.
Re: Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
#5Summary: "We commonly misinterpret displays of confidence as a sign of competence".
See "Assholes, a Theory" (2014). Despite the title, this is a serious book and well worth reading.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Assholes-Theory-Aaron-James/dp/080417...
Re: Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
#6Is "leadership" pure ideology?
Re: Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
#7I have a confession to make - I'm not a particularly good leader. I don't like managing people, and I'm not terribly interested in learning how to do this. I have seen good managers in action, and have been under a few on occasion; I am not one of these people. I do, however, have some very solid skills and have deployed them repeatedly at the handful of companies I have worked at in the past. My main concern is know…
I'm fairly sure the idea of a natural leader is a myth. Just about everybody has to learn how to do it. Everyone starts out bad at it and they work and work and work until they're better, then everybody starts crowing about how natural they made it look.
It has to look natural for it to be effective. This requires a lot of art.
Re: Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
#8Because talking with confidence will go 90% of the way to convincing people that you know what you're talking about. So often I've worked with assholes who talk with such confidence that most people won't bother filtering the garbage coming from their mouths. They just believe it.
It's almost eerie how effectively talking with confidence works. It's so effective that when you complain about these charlatans, YOU look like an asshole, even when you are completely factual. It's sad but fascinating at the same time.
Re: Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
#9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle
From the link:
The Peter principle is a concept in management theory formulated by Laurence J. Peter and published in 1969. It states that the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidate's performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role. Thus, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively, and "managers rise to the level of their incompetence."
Re: Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (2013)
#10Research shows a very strong correlation between mere height and who ends up at the very height of corporate leadership. It's an ape thing, not a competence thing.