Main content

Why your boss is incompetent

An explainer on why the wrong people get promoted

Why is it that the boss never seems to know what they’re doing? The famous “Dilbert principle” asserts that companies promote incompetent employees into middle management to get them out of the way. But Professor David Dunning, co-creator of the competing “Dunning–Kruger effect”, says there’s more to it than that, specifically that the more incompetent a person is, the more confident they can be. Meanwhile, Kelly Shue, Professor of Finance at Yale, says an even simpler idea, the “Peter Principle” helps to explain why people get promoted beyond their level of competence. And entrepreneur Heather McGregor explains why the incompetence of a former boss led her to buy her own company

(Picture: Getty Images)

Available now

18 minutes

Last on

Thu 25 Jun 2020 07:32GMT

Broadcast

  • Thu 25 Jun 2020 07:32GMT

Business Daily Podcast

Download every programme.

Podcast