New Delhi, April 16 -- In any field-be it business, politics, administration, academia or civil society-there is an unspoken assumption that those at the highest echelons are there because they are suitable for those roles and are highly competent. This belief is so deeply ingrained that we rarely question it. Yet, a closer look reveals a different reality: the upper tiers of any field are not exclusively populated by the best and most suitable. Instead, they reflect a normal distribution-some are extraordinarily capable, many are middling and many are incompetent or even dangerous.

This phenomenon is not merely about individual failings; it is systemic. The traits that help someone rise to the top are not necessarily the same as those n...