Why your boss is incompetent

At some point or another, most of us have worked for a bad boss. In fact, incompetence can seem like a rather prevalent managerial trait! High-performing leaders and their teams are the drivers of results, yet subpar performers are still tolerated. Why don’t companies replace ineffective leaders with talented people who will inspire teams, eliminating boredom and drudgery, and stimulating innovation and productivity? 

Her team picks up for her slack. Your boss may not do her job well and she might know how to do your job either. But you and your teammates know how to do your jobs, and you succeed in spite of her. You do the work, she gets the credit, and things keep moving along. 

Companies hire the gut-level “fit,” rather than for ability and capability. Most hiring managers have never been trained in interviewing techniques, and most of them make wholly subjective hiring decisions. They choose leaders and select people for promotions based on charisma, the appearance of intelligence, and extroversion, rather than on a demonstrated ability to successfully lead. 

Your company’s corporate culture is garbage. Many companies, in spite of what they say publicly, have cultures that reward selfish and self-motivated behaviors, id-driven by primal urges.

Your boss was promoted for being good at something else. A finance manager might have impeccable analytical skills and financial acumen. A creative director might bring vision and life to abstract concepts. But that does not mean that they have the skills required to succeed at management. And sometimes, people who are talented independent contributors flounder when it comes to managing others.

He hasn’t been trained. Most companies have done away with or significantly slashed their management training programs in an effort to reduce costs. Although this saves money up front, the expense of throwing untrained people into leadership roles can be insurmountable in terms of reduced morale, productivity, and efficiency. Also, earning an MBA is not the same as being trained in management.

Upper management does not care when it comes to company culture. Some executive teams don’t want “troublemakers” or those who question the status quo in positions of authority, due to fear that they may actually speak up. They prefer sycophantic yes-people, while stifling growth, development, and innovation. But, hey, your leadership team doesn’t have to deal with headaches in the form of anyone who disagrees with them! 

Basic psychology explains this theory. The Dunning-Kruger effect postulates that the least competent people often believe they are among the most competent. Combine Dunning-Kruger with cognitive bias and cognitive dissonance, and the result is incompetence.

So that’s why you might have an incompetent boss. Stand by…next week, I will discuss how to manage your incompetent boss.