Draft:Weaponized incompetence
Weaponized incompetence is a manipulation tactic in which someone, consciously or unconsciously, feigns an inability to complete a task, often requiring others to do so.[1] It was first described in 1986 as skilled incompetence within organizations by Chris Argyris in the Harvard Business Review.[2] The phrase weaponized incompetence gained popularity on social media platforms, such as Tiktok and Instagram, around 2021 as a type of gaslighting, with the tag #weaponizedincompetence having millions of views.[3]
Meaning and history
[edit]
Weaponized incompetence is to perform a task so badly, or claim one would do so, so as to avoid tasks of a similar kind, whether consciously (as a manipulative tactic) or subconsciously (as a psychological shortcoming). It became popular in mass and social media as a critique of men in interpersonal or romantic relationships.[3]
The concept was first described in 1986 as skilled incompetence within organizations by Chris Argyris in the Harvard Business Review.[2] The original context was that of executives or managers sometimes failed to communicate their opinions or employ their skills so as to reduce conflict.[2] Strategic incompetence was the next iteration of the concept and focused on peers eschewing tasks, forcing their colleagues to complete them.[4] The related terms feigned incompetence and knowledge hiding have also been the topic of social science research.[5] In popular discourse, weaponized incompetence is most often use to critique men who avoid tasks in interpersonal or romantic relationships.[1][4] Similarly, lauding simple tasks done by male partners is claimed to enable weaponized incompetence and uphold gender stereotypes.[3] A common aspect of all these terms is the tactic's use and perpetuation of labor and power imbalances in public and private life.[4][1]
In the workplaces
[edit]Weaponized incompetence in the workplace can be exhibited by employees who strategize their incompetence to get out of unwanted work.[2][4] It has also been tied to "quiet quitting", in which is when employees will do the bare minimum so as to avoid getting work in the first place.[3] The problem this raises for organizational units is that with one person's incompetence creates unequal task distribution.[3]
In interpersonal relationships
[edit]Weaponized incompetence is often used to describe when men feign incompetence so as to avoid tasks, such as household chores, in both a critical and humorous light.[1][3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d ""Damn, Man. The Time that I Lost": Power and the Process of Diagnosis for Women with Chronic Illnesses - ProQuest". www.proquest.com. Retrieved 2025-04-05.
- ^ a b c d Argyris, Chris (1986-09-01). "Skilled Incompetence". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
- ^ a b c d e f Stadnicka, Agnieszka (2024). "Feigned Digital Incompetence as a New Managerial Challenge: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda". Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, Sectio H Oeconomia. LVIII (4): 223–248. ISSN 0459-9586.
- ^ a b c d Sandberg, Jared (2007-04-17). "The Art of Showing Pure Incompetence At an Unwanted Task". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
- ^ McLuhan, Arthur (2020). "Feigning Incompetence in the Field". Qualitative Sociology Review. 16 (2): 62–74. ISSN 1733-8077.