From Dilbert’s PHB to The Office, the incompetent manager is such a popular trope that it’s in danger of becoming a tired cliché. Is this just a sign of the times or might it reflect some deeper truth? Could this be because of how we decide who to promote? A recent study has confirmed a counter-intuitive idea proposed over 30 years ago — that promoting those who perform best may, in fact, be a losing strategy.
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