In Favour of Better Leadership
On the Psychology of Incompetent Managers
Let’s start with something delightfully controversial. How do you rate your boss? What do you think of the management team you report to? How effective are the bosses in your organisation? And how did these individuals get chosen for leadership positions in the first place?
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
- John Quincy Adams
These are very important questions to consider because the evidence strongly suggests that we tend to choose our business managers - and our political leaders - for all the wrong reasons. Does that surprise you? It should at the very least be a cause of concern. Because incompetent leadership leaves a trail of destruction, disappointment and missed opportunities in its wake. Incompetence harms businesses, it harms communities and damages entire countries. And if you’re harbouring any doubts about the scale of the problem, just take a minute to check the news.
Leaders instill in their people a hope for success and a belief in themselves.
Positive leaders empower people to accomplish their goals.
- Unknown
Part of the problem is the way we still show a marked bias in the way we favour men over women in management positions. It’s a fact. Business psychologists have known for decades that leadership and management positions are overwhelmingly awarded to men rather than to women.
And this is largely due to the fact that we confuse confidence with competence.
Our culture invariably associates confidence with leadership. It might seem strange in the cold, clear light of objective analysis but we still associate brash, domineering, self-promoting men with notions of success and higher levels of skill. Men with these traits are seen as the natural leaders who are obviously best suited to management, whether that applies to a board room or to a senior government position. And that’s why there are so many individuals in management positions today who are simply not equipped or well-disposed to the kind of professional competence that their roles demand.
The world deserves better leadership in all areas. In spite of our conditioned reflex to favour image over substance, research once again confirms that it’s the quieter people with the appropriate experience and competence who make for better leaders.
The single biggest way to impact an organisation is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organisation that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them.
- John Maxwell
It should be obvious but our cultural bias for the wrong kind of leaders blinds us to these essential qualities. Quieter, perhaps less charismatic, individuals tend to possess more emotional security so they’re less inclined to be boastful. They make better listeners and are willing to consider other people’s views and opinions. They are not driven by the dangerous narcissistic tendencies that crave recognition at any price. They’re less likely to take unnecessary risks to feed their appetite for excitement. They’re more likely to take responsibility for their actions and decisions. In other words, they tend to get the job done on a daily basis, quietly and efficiently, and produce the results that lead to success. And this leads to a much happier and more productive working environment for everyone.
Once again, the research overwhelmingly confirms that women are less prone to the kind of narcissistic self-promotion that’s encouraged in leaders today. When leaders are told that self-belief is the essential, sacred quality that justifies their position, rather than a daily demonstration of professional competence, we know we can expect problems.
Competence, like truth, beauty, and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder.
- Laurence J. Peter
There really is no substitute for a regular, disciplined application of ability. In this sense, we need to free women from the pressure of trying to adopt the behaviours of ‘confident’ or ‘charismatic’ men. It’s these qualities that are causing far too much chaos and harm in the world. Perhaps the best place to start this quiet revolution is within our own hearts and minds. As we learn to discriminate between the superficial gloss of a confident exterior and search for evidence of relevant professional competence, we might begin to focus on the qualities that are truly meaningful in terms of leading any organisation.
I have always looked at my competencies before accepting any responsibility.
- N. R. Narayana Murthy
On a more cynical note, do you think we get the leaders we really deserve? In the sense that our leaders tend to reflect our own insecurities, then the answer must be ‘Yes’. But if we seek to make the world a better place, perhaps we need to learn to question our own insecurities before we appoint leaders that reflect our inadequacies.
The answer to this challenge is to seek a cultural shift in the way we appoint our leaders, whether in the world of commerce, government, education or even in the realm of religious organisations. Confidence and charisma are no substitutes for competence.
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