Incompetent leadership is everywhere, in organizations and in politics. If you look around the organization you work in or in your ward, constituency, county, or nation, you will definitely identify an incompetent leader. This begs the question, why do many incompetent people find themselves in positions of leadership yet we have many competent people in this nation?
If you today google “my boss is” you get options like incompetent, lazy, mean, abusive, and crazy. What would you say your boss is in one word? What would you say your political leader is in one word? Some employees have left their fat pay because of their bad bosses. Many would rather change their boss and get less pay. Bad leadership is, therefore, one of the major causes of employee turnover in organizations.
One of the major reasons incompetent people become leaders is due to the confusion between competence and confidence. There are people who are very confident about how well they can do something but are not good at it. Such overate their abilities and skills of what they can do. They, therefore, get hired for tasks they are not qualified for and this lowers the team morale. Have you ever worked under an incompetent boss? What was it like?
Have you ever wondered why employees who deliver beyond expectations are rarely promoted? Unfortunately, employees who rarely self-promote their work thinking that the work will speak for them will continue to be misused by their incompetent bosses. In my book How To Thrive and Influence Your Work Place, I have covered the need for self-promotion and playing functional politics to go up the ladder. Get a copy at Ksh 1500 only by calling 0776045087 for more on this topic. Many incompetent bosses are masked by a few silent, effective performers in their team.
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Is there a boss you know who is known out there as an angel but in actual fact is wicked? Incompetent people become leaders by managing their reputations. They convey the impression that they are competent and good at networking. They ride on their public brand. Such at times are entitled, self-centered and narcissistic. The kind of bosses who are like “the boss has said, it is final” Do you know someone with a great resume but dismal management skills? Have you met this kind of boss who feels entitled in the way they address you? Ever come across a boss who is so self-centered and only thinking about themself?
Incompetent people become leaders because some organizations have a culture of promoting incompetent employees. There are organizations that will redeploy incompetent employees from one department to another. Incompetent people get promoted because those in leadership do not ask for feedback from employees. Employee feedback identifies bad and incompetent leaders in an organization. This feedback should be consistent and regular and not one-off. This will avoid promoting people who behave best with the leadership team but are toxic and unsupportive to those under their supervision.
An incompetent boss always stands for the status quo and will rarely stand for his or her team. They have the tendency to blame everyone else except themselves. They are very insecure and create a toxic working environment. They are never happy to see their team members happy or progress.
Incompetent leaders can be the downfall of your organization. Organizations must promote to leadership people of integrity and who are authentic. As you choose your leaders, do away with biases of whether male or female, rich or poor, tribe or not our tribe and attractive or unattractive. Choose leaders who will honor their word and who have your interests at heart.
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