How to Spot Fake Smart People in Your Organization

In every organization, especially as it scales, there's often a mix of talent: the builders, the thinkers, the doers and then, the ones who just seem smart.

Fake-smart individuals are often masters of optics: fluent in jargon, excellent presenters, strategically positioned, and highly visible to leadership. But peel back the layers, and their impact on real outcomes is minimal.

Spotting them early isn’t just a leadership skill, it’s essential for protecting execution velocity, team morale, and product quality.

Here’s how I’ve learned to spot them:

1. Buzzword Fluent, Detail Deficient

They speak in impressive jargon but crumble when asked to break it down into steps. You’ll hear phrases like “synergize cross-functional leverage” without any clarity on how that translates into execution.

Real intelligence simplifies complexity. If they can’t explain it to a junior colleague, they probably don’t understand it themselves.

2. Great in Meetings, Absent in Outcomes

Their calendars are packed and their decks polished, yet when you ask what they’ve actually delivered, it’s either vague or outsourced.

True value shows up in shipped code, launched features, resolved incidents, or improved KPIs.

3. Strategy as a Shield Against Tactics

They constantly talk about “vision” and “alignment” but struggle when it comes to the how. Strategy becomes a hiding place.

Smart thinkers switch between 30,000-foot strategy and ground-level execution without losing grip.

4. Blame Vortex

They’re quick to point to dependencies, miscommunication, or "org-wide misalignment" when projects fall short. There’s always a reason, never responsibility.

Real performers acknowledge limits but still find a way to push forward.

5. Impresses Upward, Frustrates Sideways

Senior leaders might praise them, but peers and cross-functional collaborators often find them difficult, political, or untrustworthy.

Want the truth? Ask the ICs. Credibility is built bottom-up, not just top-down.

6. High Noise, Low Signal

They dominate conversations and meetings but rarely say anything that shifts thinking or drives a decision forward. They speak a lot but don’t clarify much.

The truly smart add clarity, shorten debates, and bring signal into noise.

7. Avoids Accountability Metrics

They gravitate toward ambiguous roles where success is hard to measure, evangelism, alignment, innovation. They resist OKRs and celebrate “activity” over outcomes.

Real operators love clear goals. Impact doesn’t need a PR plan, it shows up in the data.

In my journey building companies, I’ve learned that fake smart people are like organizational cholesterol; slowly clogging the arteries of execution. The cost isn't just productivity; it's cultural. When they thrive, real talent disengages. Your job as a leader isn’t just to spot them; it’s to create a culture where true competence is visible, rewarded, and empowered.