Why does it always seem like it is the office jerk that get the top job?

It feels that way because, sadly, it turns out to be true. We can change that by focusing instead on the traits that the individual possesses that make OTHERS better!?Bad bosses are not only males but also females (I have had both), and along with, of course, competency and talent, one thing that is consistent to making better leaders are the following qualities or leadership traits: Empathy, self-awareness, integrity, and humility. It is true that there is certainly a component of "playing the game.” I, for one, still struggle with that, but experience has taught me that you get farther if you spend the time to ‘read the tea leaves’ of your organization so you understand the unwritten rules of navigating the career climb. I know it’s particularly harder for women, blacks, and people of color due to various biases, conscious or unconscious.??

Recent research by Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic indicates that the leaders of today and for the future need to possess 3 types of capital: Intellectual capital (knowledge and expertise), social capital (who you know and who knows you?i.e. your network) and psychological capital (curiosity, grit and resilience, EQ, integrity, etc.). What Dr. Tomas research indicates is that organizations that want to be successful should focus mainly on the psychological capital of its leaders.?

With the work I do each day with leaders, what is evident is that so many leaders often appear more confident than competent, and when you delve below the surface, what we often find instead are insecure leaders. This I believe, is an opportunity for coaching and working with tools to help leaders identify their blind spots by shedding a light on those hidden, sometimes hard-to-reach spaces to help any leader, regardless of their gender, color or other preferences, address those hidden issues and fixed beliefs head on so they can lead people better.?No longer rewarding overconfidence, narcissism, and incompetence in leadership roles. Amen to that!

Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a professor of business psychology at Columbia University and University College London and the chief innovation officer at ManpowerGroup

Want to find out more check out this great interview style article by McKinsey and related research, read here: Why so many bad bosses still rise to the top | McKinsey.