The depressing reality about many people in leadership positions

Organisations are teeming with senior employees, managers and leaders.  Why are there so many books on how to be a good leader?  It is because truly inspiring, dynamic, visionary ones are difficult to find. 

• ‘My manager has no vision.’
• ‘Leadership at my company is shocking.’
• ‘I feel unappreciated.’
• ‘We have no strategic vision’
• ‘My boss never stands up for me.’
• ‘My boss always delegates and is lazy’

Many strategic business failures, people problems and other organizational issues stem from poor leadership.

The Peter Principle provides an explanation for why there are so many ineffective, uninspiring leaders in senior positions in organisations.

Dr Laurence J Peter was a professor of education at the University of Southern California.  He researched the hierarchies of modern organizations and developed the ‘Peter Principle.’  This principle is now a formal part of the curriculum in organizational psychology courses throughout the world.

Dr Peter’s theory is that, in a hierarchical organisation, people move up the ranks and are promoted when they appear to be competent and effective.  Dr Peter believes that people are promoted until they reach a certain level or ceiling.  This is called their ‘level of incompetence.’  Any further promotion beyond this level will reveal their incompetence because the higher role may demand skills that an employee has not yet mastered. 

Another way of looking at it is that if something works well, it will be stretched until it shows signs of weakness.  Then, it can be stretched no further. 

Professional services firms usually consider the Peter Principle because they do not promote a person until the employee proves that they have mastered the skills required at the next level.  This means the employee must operate at the higher level first in order to earn their promotion.  Unfortunately, this does not happen in most other organizations. 

In most places, people are generally promoted when they have mastered the skills required at the current level.  Herein lies the breeding ground of poor leadership.  Sometimes people reach their ceiling, their ‘level of incompetence’ when they have a staff of subordinates to guide and support.  The depressing reality is that most people who have reached their ‘level of incompetence’ are in leadership positions.

 

 

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