I argued that the underrepresentation of women in leadership was not due to their lack of ability or motivation, but to our inability to detect incompetence in men. When men are considered for leadership positions, the same traits that predict their downfall are commonly mistaken—even celebrated—as a sign of leadership potential or talent.

Women’s self-reports of confidence had no correlation with how others saw their confidence.

Research shows that the most accurate criticism would come from a leader’s direct reports, because they have the closest knowledge of the leader’s performance.

As a consequence, organizations often assume that a leader’s career success reflects his or her performance—the more senior a leader, the more talented the person must be.

Intelligence tests are also worse predictors of leadership than employee performance is, partly because there is less variability in intelligence scores at higher levels on the organizational ladder.