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Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

scientificamerican.com

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Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#31

Post by mrkstu »

borplk wrote: post #19
oblib wrote: post #5

When I was a kid my family would often chide me for using "big words" and told I was trying to "impress everyone" doing that. The truth is, I was just trying to relate something I'd learned and thought was interesting and every time that happened I was kind of shocked and left wondering how they'd missed the gist of what I was talking about. My own mother did it. I finally stopped sharing things I thought they'd atta…

I rarely use big words when there's a simpler one that has almost the exact same meaning. Sometimes I'm communicating something quite precise and nuanced. In those cases I may use big words because it is the right word to use. English is my 2nd language as well, so if nothing else I think I would deserve some credit for having developed a good vocabulary. It annoys me when people dismiss the precision in the language…

Lots of more precise words are not particularly 'big' words. One shouldn't have to pre-edit one's thoughts to pull out the better word because it doesn't fit into a typical 5th grade education.

I love older British children's literature because it doesn't do this at all- it expects the kids to learn new vocabulary along the way. Check out 'Peter Pan'- the verbiage is no different than if it was targeted to an older audience and the better for it.

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#32

Post by megaman22 »

oblib wrote: post #5

When I was a kid my family would often chide me for using "big words" and told I was trying to "impress everyone" doing that. The truth is, I was just trying to relate something I'd learned and thought was interesting and every time that happened I was kind of shocked and left wondering how they'd missed the gist of what I was talking about. My own mother did it. I finally stopped sharing things I thought they'd atta…

You've got to know the audience.

One of the great unsung benefits of going to a regular public school is you learn how to deal with dumb people. And when you're out in the world, outside of the above-average bubbles a lot of us find ourselves in, there's a lot of dull-normal people out there.

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#33

Post by pfisch »

WalterBright wrote: post #16

There could be something else at work here. My father told me that con men preferred to go after smart people, like doctors. The reason is that smart people thought they were too smart to get conned, and hence were more gullible. He was also an economist, and told me that there wasn't an economist born who could stand the idea that the economy would run better (i.e. free market) without their "help". And I've noticed…

> My father told me that con men preferred to go after smart people

This doesn't make a lot of sense. Most cons like the various Nigerian money scams and pyramid scams are designed to only get responses from less intelligent people.

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#34

Post by dasil003 »

corpMaverick wrote: post #23

May be related to this. I have the feeling that white rural Americans dislike "smart" people more than they dislike immigrants, blacks, city slickers and even billionaires.

If by "smart" you mean arrogant urban sophisticates who think very highly of their own intelligence then you're probably right.

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#35

Post by carapace »

QAPereo wrote: post #14
oblib wrote: post #5

When I was a kid my family would often chide me for using "big words" and told I was trying to "impress everyone" doing that. The truth is, I was just trying to relate something I'd learned and thought was interesting and every time that happened I was kind of shocked and left wondering how they'd missed the gist of what I was talking about. My own mother did it. I finally stopped sharing things I thought they'd atta…

I had the same issue, and essentially developed a lingo to speak to those kinds of people. More contractions, dropped g’s, “fucking” used as an adjective. It’s been a couple of decades, and every time I switch to that, I feel like an utter fraud, but sadly it works. I can’t imagine what I’d do if that hadn’t been an option though. Edit: Support group at my place everyone, coffee and donuts will be provided. ;)

I remember once in high school in a kind of AV class I walked past a video camera that was hooked up to a monitor with a live feed. What happened was that as I was walking across the room, I saw out of the corner of my eye a very nerdy person walking across the room on the monitor, and then I suddenly realized that it was me! I walked nerdy! After that, I actually studied the other kids to see what they were doing different, and I adopted two specific changes: 1. Walk with a strut. To me this felt exaggerated and ridiculous until I got used to it, but it was just what the other [male] students did. 2. Hold my books in my hand loosely, as though they might fall out at any time but I don't notice or care. Those two deliberate self-conscious behavioral changes led to a night-and-day difference in how other kids related to me. I was still a nerd, I didn't become popular overnight or anything, but it made a huge difference. (I went to a big public school where you didn't know everybody. FWIW.)

"Act like a dumb-ass and they'll treat you like an equal."

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#36

Post by blackbagboys »

steego wrote: post #29
WalterBright wrote: post #16

There could be something else at work here. My father told me that con men preferred to go after smart people, like doctors. The reason is that smart people thought they were too smart to get conned, and hence were more gullible. He was also an economist, and told me that there wasn't an economist born who could stand the idea that the economy would run better (i.e. free market) without their "help". And I've noticed…

> And I've noticed many smart leaders who thought they were much smarter than they actually were, and didn't need to listen to others' advice, leading to some very poor decisions. There's a difference between smart people who are leaders and smart leaders. A smart leader should know how to hire smarter people and extract good advice/insight from those people.

What you’re defining is the difference between “smart leaders” and “good leaders”, mistakenly conflating “smart” with “good” which is precisely the parent’s point. You can have leaders who are good and smart, and you can have smart leaders who not good at leading.

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#37

Post by hyperpape »

WalterBright wrote: post #16

There could be something else at work here. My father told me that con men preferred to go after smart people, like doctors. The reason is that smart people thought they were too smart to get conned, and hence were more gullible. He was also an economist, and told me that there wasn't an economist born who could stand the idea that the economy would run better (i.e. free market) without their "help". And I've noticed…

"He was also an economist, and told me that there wasn't an economist born who could stand the idea that the economy would run better (i.e. free market) without their "help"."

What exactly are you saying? Economists tend to lean somewhat libertarian, though like any field, there are a range of political opinions.

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#38

Post by scubaguy »

oblib wrote: post #5

When I was a kid my family would often chide me for using "big words" and told I was trying to "impress everyone" doing that. The truth is, I was just trying to relate something I'd learned and thought was interesting and every time that happened I was kind of shocked and left wondering how they'd missed the gist of what I was talking about. My own mother did it. I finally stopped sharing things I thought they'd atta…

  my family would often chide me for using "big words"...
  The truth is, I was just trying to relate something I'd learned...
That sounds terrible. You are not allowed to be yourself around your family. It must've been especially tough for a kid.

However, keep in mind that communication goes both ways. If the way you speak and carry yourself bothers your audience, then you should change the way you speak around them.

As an immigrant, I have thought about this a lot. Changing the way I speak isn't necessarily, as Holden Caulfield calls it, "being a phony". I can speak a completely different language in order to relate my thoughts to different peoples. It's not a stretch to choose different english words to help my partner understand me.

Re: Why People Dislike Really Smart Leaders

#39

Post by dboreham »

pfisch wrote: post #33
WalterBright wrote: post #16

There could be something else at work here. My father told me that con men preferred to go after smart people, like doctors. The reason is that smart people thought they were too smart to get conned, and hence were more gullible. He was also an economist, and told me that there wasn't an economist born who could stand the idea that the economy would run better (i.e. free market) without their "help". And I've noticed…

> My father told me that con men preferred to go after smart people This doesn't make a lot of sense. Most cons like the various Nigerian money scams and pyramid scams are designed to only get responses from less intelligent people.

Perhaps "people who thought they were smart"?
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