One day, you will fail!

In past articles, I shared with you the ‘joy’ of working for incompetent managers, and see the Dunning Kruger effect in action. It was describing annoying situations, we all witness unfortunately so often in our daily professional life. In case you missed some of my earlier articles, here links to them:

• Why Stupid People Think They Are Smart!
• Why Dumb People succeed!

As you see I’m fascinated by ‘stupidity’ at senior levels in an organisation and had plenty of opportunities to witness these first hand. In this context, it is good to be aware of another phenomenon that contributes to this; The Peter Principle.

I myself once became the victim of the Peter Principle. My career was buzzing; I was doing very well and was offered a promotion, that — in hindsight — I should never have accepted. It was a job with a manager for whom I had no respect, and it was the type of job that required political finesse and careful political debates, not my strengths. In short, I was set-up for failure and failed. I was blinded by the promotion, title, and hungry for recognition. Unfortunately, you learn these things only in hindsight. A good lesson learned!

The Peter Principle

The Peter Principle was first identified by Dr. Laurence J. Peter, a sociologist, lecturer, and business consultant, in his 1968 book of the same name. It states, In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.

Hmmm, let’s re-read that …..Every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence…

It basically says, that if you do well in a company, you will get promoted. However, as we all have our own limitations, once will get promoted into a role that is not suitable for you and you will fail. A very daunting situation.

Dr. Peter explained that if you fail to fulfill the requirements of a given position that you are promoted to, it may not be the result of general incompetence on your part. It is due to the fact that the position simply requires different skills than you actually possess. A sad and uncomfortable position to be in.

The sad thing is that employees tend to remain in positions for which they are incompetent because incompetence is rarely sufficient to cause the employee to be fired from the position. It does require extreme incompetence to be terminated.

As this phenomenon tends to become only apparent in the more senior roles, this (partly) explains the existence of incompetent managers.

Why does this happen?

1. Entry-level jobs in a company are of technical and/or administrative nature
2. Companies (rightly) prefer internal promotions
3. Promotions tend to happen as a result of current performance and typically does not often take into account the suitability of the candidate for the next job

All of this is not bad, but if the company fails to deliver on the proper training of internal (junior staff) and has flawed promotion practices, we have all ingredients to cook a perfect Peter Principle pie!

I was lucky enough to receive early in my career a Krauthammer management training. Even though it is now 30 years ago I can still literally recall elements of that training. Not many companies make the expense to train their staff to prepare them for their next job!

My Tips to avoid the Peter Principle

Now we know it exists, how do we avoid falling into the Peter Principle trap?

1. Keep a close eye between your productivity and what you earn. If you start to earn too much money in relation to your level of productivity and the value you deliver to the organisation, the Peter Principle trap is waiting for you.
2. Keep studying for your next job. We are often so busy with our current job, that studying for our next job does not get the proper priority. Study and identify the niche skill you believe will be required in the next 3–5 years. Ensure you study those and continue to ride the knowledge wave!
3. Identify what makes you thick and let that drive your career. We all have our weak areas; domains that just are not ours. You can train and study but if things like playing the political game do not suit you, avoid jobs that require this. A high matrix organisation in that case may not be your best choice.
4. Keep control over yourself and your career. Life is too short to let it be ruined by a lousy job or a useless manager. In case you do not feel right in your job or don’t have a click with your manager, regain control. Change it! Find another job, either internally or externally. I have done it a few times (even recently) and trust me, within a week you feel re-energized. The alternative ain’t much better, staying will keep you frustrated.
5. Hire on required personality and skills for the next job. If you are a hiring (or promoting) manager, try to look ‘through’ your candidate’s current capabilities and convince yourself that this person has strong points that are essential for the role you are hiring for. Only then you can proceed with the promotion/appointment.
6. Test the ice. Don’t jump into a Senior role just like that. Like me, your career may be on a roll. The first few promotions are usually very harmless. You get into a role that is a natural fit for you. You start to gain supporters in the organisation, and one day someone will propose you a huge nice role. Keep your head cool, and test the job as if you are stepping on the ice after one night of freezing. If you have doubts, share them upfront, rather than hiding them. Seek advice from people you trust. It will help you later. Trust me it better than a fall through the ice.

In Conclusion

Now you know about the Peter Principle, keep your eyes and ears open, and think about this article next time you are offered a promotion! By doing that you will keep your underwear dry!