Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?

Look around your office. Turn on the TV. Incompetent leadership is everywhere, and there's no denying it.

There's also no denying that women make up only a tiny handful of senior leaders worldwide. In this provocative book, author Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic connects the dots and asks a powerful question: what if the reason for the lack of women at the top—and the presence of so many incompetent leaders who also happen to be men—is not that there are too many obstacles slowing women's advancement, but that there aren't enough career-testing obstacles for men?

Marshalling decades of rigorous research on leadership to build his case, Chamorro-Premuzic points out that although women make up a minority of leaders, female leaders are often rated by both bosses and subordinates as more competent than their male peers. At the same time, most organisations continue to equate leadership potential with a handful of personality traits, like overconfidence and narcissism, that don't correlate with success. In other words, these traits may help people get nominated to leadership roles, but they backfire once the individual has the job.

When competent women—and men who don't fit the stereotype—are unfairly overlooked, we all suffer the consequences. The result is a deeply flawed system that rewards arrogance rather than humility, and loudness rather than wisdom.

There is a better way. With clarity and verve, the author helps us navigate the latest research showing what it really takes to lead and how new systems and processes can help us put the right people in charge.

Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? is not another book giving advice to women on how to survive in a sexist world. Instead, it shows how a dangerous leadership misconception can result in the wrong people rising to power—and provides ideas for fixing the system.

'...a book that delves into the data and the psychology of why we often glorify style-over-substance leadership.' - Huffington Post

‘Women must insist on right to be as useless as men’ - Pilita Clark from The Irish Times