Have you ever, met a colleague or had a boss who performed so poorly on simple tasks that you could only wonder, “How the heck did he get that job? The Peter Principle was introduced in 1968 and coined by Dr. Laurence J. Peter, in his book titled, “The Peter Principle”. This concept is an observation that for companies with organizational hierarchies, every employee climbs the ladder of promotion until they reach a level of respective incompetence.
For example, a project technician may be quite effective at that role which led to his promotion to a coveted project manager role. After working in the role for several months, one would soon learn that the individual would have been more productive for the company had he remained a project technician.
What is the Peter Principle?
The Peter Principle is based on the idea that employees who are exceptional at one role will continue to be promoted due high-quality outputs or results. However, eventually, that individual will be promoted into a role in which they find themselves to be incompetent. It is important to note that one should not think too deeply into the word. Incompetence should not be a derogatory word, here, as it has come to be known. Think of it solely as an ‘inability to perform’ or a ‘skills gap’. Individuals who have reached certain positions do not always received adequate training. The assumption of success is based on prior outputs not skills necessary for the role.
For example, a creative employee many not be well-suited for a position where one must follow a rigid set of protocols and corporate compliance requirements. A happy-go-lucky, employee may not necessarily be the best leader of teams.
The idea of the Peter Principle indicates, too, that every position in a hierarchy will be filled by employees who rise to their level of incompetent to fulfill the job duties of their respective positions.
As I mentioned earlier, the promotion typically occurs due to competencies exhibited by visible and tangible results one creates personally. However, as one moves further up the ladder, one will find themselves evaluated by a different set of standards such as team outputs. As they reach their level of incompetence, they will be evaluated on input factors such as leadership qualities and influence.
Most people will not turn down a promotion—even if they know they are truly unqualified for a position. The good news for them is that most of them will remain in those roles because mere competency is rarely sufficient to cause their termination. A demotion will be difficult as other employees will have already moved into the role.
How does one overcome the Peter Principle?
First, one thing you must understand is that each position requires a difference skill set. Many times, the required skills are quite different from the skills the employee possessed in prior roles. One way to overcome this through ongoing training and reskilling.
In an ideal world, companies should provide training to the employee entering the role; however, adequate training is not always provided. A Forbes article indicates that 58{e064d39067af08765fe4755b27c2288f15422f18b81a044f04440620879b5da2} of new managers do not receive management training to be effective at their jobs. If a company wants to see ongoing innovation and success of the promoted employee, they should provide the training prior to and ongoing after a promotion.
What’s an Aspiring Mogul to do?
You know better than to wait on a company to hand you a well-packaged training program! You must make a commitment to stretch yourself. If you are taking on new projects, you will need to learn how to juggle multiple projects in the most efficient way. If you are managing teams, you will need to learn social influence and leadership skills.
- The first thing I would do is find a mentor in the role to understand the role and exactly what skills are needed.
- Second, create your own learning plan. They are many programs like project management and data analysis courses to help you evaluate business operations and administration.
- Third, build your network. Your city might have an emerging leaders program that offers a way for cross industrial professionals to come together to discuss and learn leadership strategies from one another.
- Lastly, practice makes perfect. Volunteer to lead projects with non-profits in your area.
If there are skills you need to develop, these are four ways for you to go ahead and begin developing them. You will be able to lean on these experiences when you are presenting your case on why you are best suited for the job. Furthermore, when you are in the new role, you will excel.
Aspire Higher,
