Basically, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic credits the “Glass Ceiling” preventing women from getting top jobs…which benefit incompetent men who get the top jobs and screw up. Chamorro-Premuzic presents plenty of examples of difficult leaders–Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Donald Trump–and contrasts them with female leaders like Angela Merkel and Mother Teresa. The subtitle of Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders is (and how to fix it). The fix Chamorro-Premuzic suggests–based on reams of research–is to promote more women into strategic and operational leadership positions. This book will provoke plenty of debate, but the facts clearly point to the difference in genders and performance. Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders explores a timely alternative to organizational dysfunction. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1 Why Most Leaders Are Inept 1
2 Confidence Disguised as Competence 17
3 Why Bad Guys Win 39
4 The Charisma Myth 67
5 The Female Advantage 85
6 What Good Leaders Look Like 103
7 Learning to Distrust Our Instincts 125
8 How Leaders Get Better 145
9 Measuring a Leader’s Impact 163
Notes 181
Index 203
Acknowledgments 215
About the Author 217
So he contrasts bad male leaders against good female leaders. How about good male leaders like Obama and FDR against bad female leaders such as Margaret Thatcher? Does he pick and choose to support his theories? I’m not saying he is wrong having not read the book, but their are a lot of bad female leaders out there too. Men have just been given more opportunities to prove themselves incompetent then women have.
Steve, you have grasped the essence of Chamorro–Premuzic’s argument: incompetent men get ahead because competent women get passed over. You’re right, of course, that incompetent women leaders mess things up, too.
“Men have just been given more opportunities to prove themselves incompetent than women have.” Yes, I agree with Steve on this. You only have to read some of the nonsense that comes out of the mouths (and actions) of female right-wingers to know incompetence and hubris know no gender; it’s just that, socially and culturally, men are more easily forgiven for screw ups and “indiscretions” than women are. There’s an old saying, “True equality will come when women are permitted to be mediocre.” Yeah, not holding my breath for that.
/Also, no matter how good this book is, there’s something a bit “man-splainy” about a man telling the world what we gals have known for a long time.
Deb, I think women have been voicing these arguments for years, but Chamorro-Premuzic wrote the article that launched this book in the HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW. Timing is everything.
I agree with Steve and Deb. Pass.
Jeff, I suspect WHY DO SO MANY INCOMPETENT MENT BECOME LEADERS will be a best-seller. It’s concise, brief, and cogent.
When do we get the Canada review and trip report?
Jeff, next Tuesday. But–SPOILER ALERT!–Diane and I had lots of fun!
It is so much harder for a woman to rise to the top, that those who do are especially gifted, I think.
Patti, I agree. But, as Chamorro-Premuzic says, the fix is in for men to achieve the top jobs more easily than women. And, that leads to some incompetent leaders. Just look at the 2016 Presidential Election.
Theresa May is indicative of the opportunities newly available to mediocre women politicians, at least. Nancy Pelosi similarly.
If that’s his premise it’s bullshit.