Just As I Suspected...

Your boss, despite outward appearances, doesn't know shit.

Social psychologists know that one way to be viewed as a leader in any group is simply to act like one. Speak up, speak well and offer lots of ideas, and before long, people will begin doing what you say. This works well when leaders know what they're talking about, but what if they don't? If someone acts like a boss but thinks like a boob, is that still enough to stay on top?

Umm yes, actually. A bunch of smart dudes devised some tests where groups of people were told they'd win some cash if they could organise a non profit environmental organisation better than their competitors.

The work sessions were videotaped, and a group of independent observers performed the same evaluations, as did Anderson and Kilduff. All three sets of judges reached the same conclusions. Consistently, the group members who spoke up the most were rated the highest for such qualities as "general intelligence" and "dependable and self-disciplined." The ones who didn't speak as much tended to score higher for less desirable traits, including "conventional and uncreative."

You gotta dominate the dojo, as The Kid would say.

Incidentally, I posted the pic of Gervais before I saw the pic of 'American Gervais' in the article. Swear to God.