EP152 – The Future of Leadership: Beyond the Peter Principle
The secret to developing leaders at every level is overcoming the Peter Principle. #AdvancedQualityPrograms #TheQualityGuy #BeyondPeterPrinciple #LevelUp
Do you want to break the promotion barrier? As Alexander Fleming said, “Penicillin cures, but wine makes people happy.”
The Peter Principle suggests that in any job, a competent individual is likely to be promoted to a position that requires a new set of skills. However, if the promoted individual lacks the skills needed for the new role, they will become ineffective in the new task and won’t be promoted again. If they are competent in the new role, they will continue to be promoted until they reach a level where they are no longer effective. At this point, they become stuck in their final position, which is known as Peter’s plateau.
Over time, this outcome is considered inevitable in any organization with enough positions for individuals to climb. The Peter Principle is summed up in this way: “In a hierarchy, every individual tends to rise to their level of incompetence.” This leads to Peter’s corollary, which states: “In time, every post tends to be occupied by an individual who is incompetent to carry out its duties.” The study of how hierarchies function is referred to as “hierarchiology.”
Avoiding the Peter Principle
One of the more peculiar realities of workplace life is the Peter Principle. The idea is simple: eventually, every individual will rise to their level of incompetence. When someone excels in their current role, it’s often assumed they’ll be just as successful in a more advanced position. But this isn’t always the case, as the new role may require skills they don’t have.
A classic example is the specialist who is great at their job, for example, an auditor. Because of their success and results, it’s assumed they’ll be a good fit for a managerial role in the auditing department coordinating teams. However, the skills needed to manage people are very different from those required to audit financials, quality, and so on, leading to potential problems.
One possible solution could be to demote the person back to a role where they excel, but this can be quite harsh. A better approach is to focus on preventing the Peter Principle from happening in the first place. As a manager, if you want to avoid this mistake when making promotion decisions, consider this: promotions are often driven by the individual’s desire to advance, but they may not fully understand what the new role requires.
If your company allows it, you can offer alternatives. For example, the individual might prefer to stay in their current job with a small pay increase as recognition for their excellent work. Or they may want to remain in their role but take on additional technical responsibilities, again with a slight raise. Another option is to explore management opportunities, but only after having an in-depth conversation to gauge their interest and understanding of what a management role involves and preparing them for the necessary skillset upgrade.
If they do express a genuine interest in management, consider making a test run. Offer them a temporary management position, perhaps filling in for someone on leave or covering a recently vacated role. This allows both you and the individual to see how they handle the new responsibilities, helping you make a more informed decision about a permanent promotion, and calibrate with results in hand.
However, if you realize that your team or even you personally has fallen victim to the Peter Principle, you don’t need to panic. Start by acknowledging the situation. Pretending everything is fine when it’s not will only make things worse. Instead, talk to your boss about it. Consider options like executive training or coaching to help you quickly bridge the skill gap. You could also explore creative adjustments to your role that align better with your strengths, whether that involves changing your responsibilities or authority.
Only by taking clear steps to prevent your team from falling into incompetence will you strengthen their performance. While hierarchies have their benefits, like providing a clear chain of command and well-defined roles, they also come with some inefficiencies. By keeping the Peter Principle strategies in mind, you can reduce the chances of falling into the incompetence trap, and you’ll be better prepared to address it if it happens.
Cultivating Future Leaders
Great leadership is about balancing both short-term and long-term needs. However, the urgency of immediate demands often makes us focus too much on the short term. One crucial long-term goal that is sometimes overlooked is cultivating future leaders. While hiring new people can help build your leadership pipeline, this should only be a small part of your strategy. Relying too heavily on external hires can cause your internal team to lose faith in their chances of advancing. So, let’s talk about developing talent from within.
Regardless of your organization’s size or structure, the fundamentals of building a strong leadership pipeline remain consistent. There are four key steps to achieving this goal.
First, identify the best talent within your organization. Depending on your needs, this process could be highly formal and data-driven, or it might involve a few candid conversations with your management team. Every organization is different, but the focus should be on leadership skills, not just technical abilities. Look for individuals who communicate well, motivate others, make sound decisions, and handle conflict effectively, these are the traits of future leaders.
Second, collaborate with these potential leaders to develop their growth plans. If they are as talented as you believe, they won’t want to be micromanaged. Instead, engage in open dialogue to understand their interests and aspirations. There are many creative ways to shape their responsibilities, so make sure you involve them in the process.
Third, consider the activities you’ll use to develop their leadership skills. Focus on both diversification and increased responsibility. By diversification, I mean broadening the range of tasks they handle across different functions and technical areas. As for responsibility, fast-track their authority compared to other individuals. These strategies will challenge them, revealing both their strengths and their current limits.
Finally, retaining top talent should be a high priority. The more talented someone is, the more options they have in the job market. To keep your rising stars, you need to make them feel genuinely valued. Competitive wages and benefits are important, but so are public recognition of their achievements and including them in decision-making with senior managers.
You might be successful today, but your long-term success depends on how well you nurture your talent pool. By following these four steps, you’ll ensure that your organization has the leaders it needs for the future and prepare your team to prevent the Peter Principle.
I have no idols. I admire work, dedication and competence.
Ayrton Senna