Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic discusses why incompetent men often rise to leadership roles, advocating for a gender-neutral approach. They explore the importance of emotional intelligence, authenticity, and hard skills in leadership selection. The podcast challenges traditional leadership traits and emphasizes the need for selecting stronger, more diverse candidates.
Leadership selection should prioritize emotional intelligence and connection over gender biases.
Effective leaders prioritize team welfare, rational decisions, and emotional intelligence over charisma.
Deep dives
Leadership Selection Based on Talent and Potential
Leaders should be chosen for their ability to inspire, motivate, and connect emotionally with others rather than gender. Research highlights that gender often influences leadership selection and success, leading to talented individuals, particularly men, being overlooked for lacking traditional leadership qualities. By shifting focus to talent and merit, organizations can enhance leadership quality and achieve gender balance.
The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Leadership
Emotional intelligence (EQ) plays a crucial role in effective leadership by promoting self-control, empathy, and understanding of individual differences. Leaders with high EQ are more likely to engage their teams, boost productivity, and outperform competitors. Despite the preference for charismatic leaders, an emotionally intelligent leader prioritizes rational decisions, teamwork, and putting the team's welfare first.
Striving for Genuine Leadership Potential
Organizations aiming to identify genuine leadership potential should focus on intellectual, social, and psychological capital. Intellectual capital encompasses knowledge and expertise, while social capital involves networks and privilege. Psychological capital, including self-awareness and empathy, should be emphasized over superficial traits like credentials. Genuine leadership potential lies in individuals who make others better and prioritize collaboration over self-promotion.
Narcissism. Overconfidence. Low EQ. Why do we persist in selecting for leadership traits that hamper organizational progress—and leave the right potential leaders in the wrong roles? In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, author of Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It) (Harvard Business Review Press, March 2019), joins McKinsey talent leaders Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle, as well as global editorial director Lucia Rahilly, to discuss why the traits that propel us to the top seem to diverge so widely from those that make us great leaders—as well as how to choose stronger, more successful, and more diverse candidates for leadership roles.