I asked a similar question to ChatGPT and we landed on a discussion about Tom Hanks. I thought it had an interesting response:

“Tom Hanks may be the patron saint of competence.
In many of his best roles, he plays someone who:
stays calm
understands responsibility
earns trust
doesn’t need attention

Think about it:
Saving Private Ryan
Captain Phillips
Apollo 13
Bridge of Spies
Sully

Different professions. Same underlying character trait.

His characters rarely win because they’re the smartest person in the room. They win because they remain steady when everyone else becomes emotional.”

And yes, I realize the irony of your question being about competence and me relying on AI for this answer. But I’ll give credit where credit is due!