Monday 10 October 2022
Incompetence knows how to win
Incompetence can be surprisingly interesting. Imagine a survey where 1000 adults are asked if they would prefer to be more incompetent. Assuming everyone takes the survey seriously, the answer would probably be a resounding no. Yet some of those polled could be political activists, or people who visit art galleries in order to glue themselves to paintings.
At a basic level, competence is presumably a survival trait. In Neolithic times, the incompetent hunter-gatherer could be an unfortunate chap who didn’t survive a near miss when he threw his flint-tipped spear at an aggressive bear. His personal tragedy could be described as an incompetent interaction with the real world.
Moving beyond the basics, we have tribal competence where incompetent social interaction with the tribe may also impinge on survival, but perhaps not so drastically as the incompetent hunter gatherer. Apart from wars, persecution, witch-burning and so on of course. Maybe bears weren’t so bad. Even an incompetent spear-thrower could at least run away.
The tribe offers, but does not always provide, protection in exchange for tribal loyalty, which could be described as tribal competence. Yet tribal competence may include rituals and obeisance which make no sense to an outsider - or even many insiders. Sir Keir taking the knee for example. Net Zero is another example. COP27 will offer up a cornucopia of examples. There are many from which to choose.
We inevitably distance ourselves from incompetence when we are incautious enough to point it out it within the tribe. In doing so, we may also distance ourselves socially within the tribe. Tribal loyalty may become frayed, and it may be seen as our fault.
In which case, if we happen to notice that tribal rituals and obeisance make no sense, it may not be personally advantageous to point it out. In our finger-pointing times it may even be professionally disastrous. Heads above the parapet are easy targets, especially for incompetent loyalists. Incompetence knows how to win.
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4 comments:
Excellent post.
It got me wondering who the incompetent ones are. Starmer might have read the situation carefully, and showed real competence in catching a mood prevalent or rising within his party. He clambers to the top by carefully watching how the others behave, and then outdoing them in subtle but telling ways.
But....No. There's no point in being competent in running a completely useless and actively harmful organisation. He's not faking stupidity in an inteligent way. The man's just stupid.
Sam - thanks and yes, Starmer's competence in reading the party mood places him within the same mood. You are right - there's no point in being competent in running a completely useless and actively harmful organisation.
The only thing I'd add, is that he seems to have a tight grip on a stupid party which is riding high in the polls. There is possibly something sinister in that.
I think there are a number of reasons why incompetent people win out. In our tendency to hierarchy, it is often convenient to elevate an incompetent to get them out of the way of the menace they are being where they are, then it's someone else's problem. Sometimes they are powerful people who can safeguard themselves against attack and criticism. Worst of all, there are individuals often present, (whom I would call perverse), who actually admire them as competent whilst most others have to put up with them.
Tammly - and I expect many of us have seen it - elevating incompetent people. As you say, they can be admired as competent and that doesn't help. Assertiveness can be mistaken for competence too.
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