The rise of incompetence

Abstract

Rapidly accessed online information is a powerful tool for skill-building, and it is logical to promote someone who does something well to manage others doing it. This undermines managerial competence: Managing is a complex social skill that is learned less when studying online than through apprenticeship. Class barriers and glass ceilings may be under attack, but subtle biases remain and can impede promotions. By the logic of the Peter Principle, underrepresented groups are especially likely to be capable as they more slowly approach their final promotion. What should we do? Think frequently about what we really want in life, and keep an eye on those hierarchies in which we spend our days, never forgetting that they are modern creations of human beings who grew up on savannahs and in the forests.