Interesting article on selecting competent leaders

Started by SheliaH • 2 replies • 282 views

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SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

Just in time for HOA board annual meetings - here's an article from TED Talks on why many people select incompetent men as leaders (I'm sure some of this could also apply to some women, but since men often dominate leadership positions.....)

Anyway, the article also suggests approaches for selecting people to try and avoid incompetent, narcissistic, and just plain stupid people. This could be something to think about when you consider candidates for board positions and/or whether to keep some or none of the current bunch. Enjoy!

https://ideas.ted.com/why-do-so-many-incompetent-men-become-leaders-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

We're doomed.

Not only do poor leaders lack self-awareness, the people who elect/follow those leaders also lack self-awareness. It's another example of the Dunning-Kruger effect (https://www.britannica.com/science/Dunning-Kruger-effect). The D-K effect also has a flip side - highly competent people tend to underestimate their own competence because they have a good idea of how much they don't know.

I was dismayed by the speaker's reference to the allure of narcissistic people. I'm the opposite - I'm revolted by them. I truly don't understand how others can't see how disordered those people's minds are.

All of this supports something I've mentioned in the past. If we want better leaders - in HOAs or anywhere else - we need to improve the pool from which these leaders are chosen. The best process in the world won't produce good results if the raw materials are poor.

PatJ1 (North Carolina)
Posts: 568

Posted:

The first person I thought of when I read this article was my boss (company owner) of 23 years. Wasn't always that way. Just a massive change in his position 5 years ago due to people leaving the company. Good people left or were fired. He stepped into their positions and everything was blown to hell. He kept it together all those years by hiring good people he managed. When they were gone, turned out he wasn't any good at doing their job. He was a good motivator and salesman. He's miserable, I'm miserable, everyone is miserable. I'm just holding on until I can retire in less than 2 years. Stupid employer dependent heath benefits.

The second person I thought of was our HOA VP. Who may be the only one remaining on the board after our next Annual Meeting. The other 2, after 6 years, will not be moving forward with another term. Haven't had a quorum at meetings in 20 years. We secured elected positions, after being appointed, on the tail of a dues increase passed 4 years ago.

We have no section. Nobody wants this "job"!

And, "The Beat Goes On".

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