In his TEDx Talk, Martin Gutman introduces the Action Fallacy. This is the incorrect notion that the best leaders are the most visible and create the most noise and activity. History shows that we tend to celebrate leaders with dramatic stories of triumph. But many of these celebrated stories, like that of Ernest Shackleton – a polar explorer who overcame numerous disasters – are rooted in incompetence. The crises that he is celebrated for having prevailed over were caused by his poor judgment and lack of preparation and training. We like to confuse a good story for good leadership, however, often, good leadership will result in a bad story (TEDx, 2024). As an example, Gutmann explains that Ronald Amundsen – the most successful polar explorer to have lived – is hardly known. It’s not for a lack of accomplishments, it’s for a lack of a captivating story. Amundsen was such a meticulous and thorough leader that his impeccable planning led him to successful explorations, avoiding the drama that Shackleton endured. We don’t celebrate Amundsen despite him being a better leader, because his stories are boring and without action. The same happens in the workplace. Managers often promote action-oriented individuals; those who solve crises, rather than those who mitigate crises altogether. According to MacLaren et al. (2020), we tend to see leadership potential in people who:

• Speak more, regardless of what they say
• Are confident, regardless of competence
• Are perpetually busy, regardless of what they’re doing

The flawed system of rewarding action-oriented individuals is not only bad for organizations, but it can perpetuate a systemic culture of crisis captains rather than thoughtful and careful leaders. “Since we reward people who are good in crises (and ignore people who are such good managers that there are very few crises), [people] soon learn to seek out (or reframe situations as) crises” (Grint, 2010). Gutmann explains that we need to reframe our perception of good leaders by ignoring the ‘captains of crisis’ and celebrating those who mitigate drama (TEDx, 2024). Be aware of the action fallacy and how it may be affecting your workplace culture. When in a position of leadership, try not to fall into the trap, and reward employees based on their effectiveness rather than their visibility.

If you would like to read more about the related Dunning-Kruger effect and how it causes incompetent people to be overconfident, visit THIS POST.

References

Grint, K. (2010). Leadership: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780199569915.001.0001

MacLaren, N. G., Yammarino, F. J., Dionne, S. D., Sayama, H., Mumford, M. D., Connelly, S., Martin, R. W., Mulhearn, T. J., Todd, E. M., Kulkarni, A., Cao, Y., & Ruark, G. A. (2020). Testing the babble hypothesis: Speaking time predicts leader emergence in small groups. The Leadership Quarterly, 31(5), 101409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2020.101409

TEDx, T. (Director). (2024, May 23). Why do we celebrate incompetent leaders?  | Martin Gutmann | TEDxBerlin [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU06c7f9fzc