Paradoxically, people promoted to the highest ranks are far from systematically being those most suited to leadership. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Professor of Business Psychology at University College London, deciphers this phenomenon in a McKinsey podcast.

One of the main causes of this paradox is the confusion between competence and self-confidence. Expressing one’s opinions with confidence, charisma and strength of conviction conveys the impression of possessing strong leadership potential. This overlooks the importance of empathy, of integrity, and of the ability to motivate one’s teams to engage in a collective effort. In this way, an insidious discrimination is established in favor of people displaying excessive self-confidence, or even narcissism.

In order to counter this bias, the priority is to review promotion processes so as to place greater emphasis on emotional and interpersonal skills. Which, observes Chamorro-Premuzic, has a far greater effect on increasing diversity than the implementation of quotas. Furthermore, orienting leadership development programs toward the reinforcement of these qualities within all potential leaders will allow not only the improvement of leadership quality, but also the development of a corporate culture that is at once more inclusive and more effective.

Source: Why so many bad bosses still rise to the top, McKinsey Talks Talent podcast, May 2024.