If we want to improve the competence level of people in leadership positions, we need to improve our own competence for judging and selecting them, especially when they are men, says organizational psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. Have you ever worked with people who are not as good as they think? This finding won’t come as a…
via Why do so many incompetent men become leaders? And what can we do about it? — ideas.ted.com
This article and video made me think about the nature of leadership. It was hard to disagree with what Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic says on these points, given my experience working both for leaders who are competent and those who are incompetent. I’ve also worked for competent women leaders and less competent ones.
Since women have had less historical access to traditional power structures, we often need to accomplish things through non-traditional channels. We also don’t typically have as much “time on task” when it comes to developing our leadership “signature” so to speak. Lots of interesting dynamics here.
I’m curious to know what y’all think, if you want to weigh in on your experiences.
Happy weekend, friends!
cristy@meximinnesotana.com
mexi minnesotana 
It is amazing what a difference it makes to have a competent leader rather than an incompetent one. Sadly, far too many leaders just aren’t all that good. I don’t know if it’s a gender thing or not, but I do wish there was a way to demote the incompetent ones….
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Right?!?
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I don’t have any helpful ideas on what to do about it – I find it infuriating and sad. Working for an incompetent leader was one of the most exhausting experiences I had in my work life, and at some point I just checked out. I work with 95% women, though we still (of course… grrr…) had a man as CEO. That’s changed, and the senior leadership team is now 80% women, middle management is completely women. Anyway, it’s all obvious to see and yet, no obvious solutions.
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I can relate to this frustration. I’m grateful that more people are starting to see the hidden leadership potential in women, and the ways in which we can be leaders even if we don’t duplicate the disastrous leadership practices of incompetent men. Thanks for your comment!
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