Who’s most likely to get promoted? To be nominated as the leader of the team? To score an investment for their start up? 

According to research, those who look leaderful. People who perform leadership get the gold ring.They’re great at self-promotion, great at networking, and great at impression making. But performance doesn’t mean they get results. In fact, it’s often the opposite. Those who are best at self-promotion often fail at the real tasks of leadership. 

You’d think we’d get better distinguishing between true performance, and just, well, stage performance. But even the smartest people in the room fall for it.

Consider this

When Elizabeth Holmes pitched her blood-testing startup, Theranos, she was selling more than her technology, she was selling a story. Black turtlenecks. Baritone voice. Unblinking eyes. She was selling the story of a charismatic genius. 

Adam Neumann, former CEO of WeWork, was also a great performer, walking barefoot into meetings and talking about elevating human consciousness. And Sam Bankman-Fried played the part of the sloppy genius, sleeping on beanbags while running a multibillion-dollar crypto exchange. 

All of them radiated confidence, projected certainty and genius. And people bought it, sitting on their boards, investing their millions. These were not naive people, but some of the most powerful and experienced people in business and politics. Rupert Murdoch lost $125 million to Holmes. Masayoshi Son of SoftBank poured over $4 billion into Neumann’s vision. Major venture capital firms lined up to fund SBF. They were duped by the data because they were dazzled by the performance.

Putting it into play

It’s easy to be seduced by what looks like power. Psychologists call it the power gaze: a cognitive bias where we unconsciously grant more authority, credibility, and moral weight to those who look and act powerful. 

But projection isn’t reality. And in this age of Insta, it’s easier than ever to project power. We need to check if there is substance behind the sizzle, to be vigilant and ask ourselves: 

  • Are we mistaking style for substance? 
  • Are we investing in ideas that matter, or in personas? 
  • Are we letting someone’s confidence override our doubts?

Leadership isn’t how someone looks on stage. It’s how someone acts when the lights are off. Great leaders can be measured by the quality of the teams they build, and what they can produce, not just what they perform. 

Remember, all acts need an audience. So our job as the audience is to bring our critical thinking, because otherwise, we’re just part of the illusion.