What is the Peter Principle?
The business of leading and managing people is a delicate balance. The Peter Principle and the halo effect is the observation that people tend to rise to “their level of incompetence” in a hierarchy. A management theory that predicates a candidate’s successful performance in their current position is not a true indicator of how they will perform in a new role. When people are promoted that they can become progressively less effective because good performance in one job does not guarantee similar performance in another.
In my hundreds of hours of professional observations and personal experience as well as research on this subject, I have found it true that many people get promoted primarily on how competent they are at doing their current job. Often promotions involve that the person being promoted will begin managing other people. What is not taken into consideration is that not all people know how to manage people or themselves, and this difference can make or break any team. This is a particular skill set and one that can be learned and developed. Hence the research reflecting that the number one reason people quit or leave their jobs is because they are unhappy with their boss, according to a Gallup poll.
The business of leading and managing people is a delicate balance. How do you bring out the best in your team and their strengths? How do you motivate, inspire, and engage them? When a person is promoted, and these areas are overlooked or not tended to, it is a double whammy. Not only does the team suffer from an untrained manager of people, but the manager is set up for a world of frustration. One of the fundamental things that people need and want is to feel valued and important. Some people that lead other people are natural at this, however many are not. I have witnessed countless times throughout my career so many people feel like what they think or suggest regarding their work and work challenges goes unheard or doesn’t matter. As human beings, we are naturally wired to want to connect with one another and feel heard and valued. In many work cultures the focus is more weighted on operational aspects and not on employee experience and culture. This is where considerable opportunity exists that translates to increased productivity and profitability.
When people feel like they are just a number or a “cog in the wheel,” they are not emotionally invested in the outcomes. Sure they may do an average or good job, but usually, they just show up and do what they need to get by and clock their time. Have you ever been in a situation where you were miserable because of a leader or managers behavior? I sure have, and it was very unpleasant. I want to share a story with you from my early career experience.
I still remember her after years of trying to forget her. Her name was Susan, and she made a lasting impression on me. I was working in product development at the time for a well-known Maine-based company. I loved what I was learning and felt inspired by the desire to learn as much as I could with the opportunity to express my creativity. At the time, I was newly separated and a single working mother. Working at this company for about three years, I had been promoted a few times.
I initially started in administration and was promoted to product development. The experience I gained over the first three years was great and I had made some wonderful workplace friends. When I got a promotion to the product development department I was so excited and proud and I was given many additional responsibilities. At the same time I was promoted the company was going through a tremendous amount of change in upper management. As a result new people were coming in while many that had been there a long time were leaving.
In the product development department where I had been promoted a new manager was hired, her name was Susan and life got a lot more interesting for me. I had always been considered a very upbeat, easygoing person and with regard to my work history, a good, reliable and hardworking employee. I had been promoted four times over the previous three years at this company and all of my performance reviews were great.
Susan, the new department manager, was a single woman in her early forties with a straightforward, no-nonsense style. There were ten others in the department, all women and none with small children. When Susan came on board, I was in the learning phase of my new role and figuring things out on my own. I would sit with other teammates and they would help me learn what I needed to know. When I got stuck I would seek support from the right person. This was working out okay, although in hindsight, not an optimal way to train a new person. Everyone was friendly to each other and helpful. Have you ever heard of the expression “attitudes are contagious?” Soon after Susan started things began to change for me, not only was I feeling like I was being treated differently by my new manager, but some of the people in the department also started to take her lead.
I began feeling excluded in conversations and meetings, ignored and my work was now constantly being criticized. The new manager’s idea and expectation of me were very different from prior managers. Although in itself is okay for managers to have different expectations what was not okay was how it was or was not communicated. No matter what I did, she found fault and I was trying so hard to do a good job. In a short amount of time I became confused and very stressed with her discontent with my work. It was very apparent that she had issues with how I was performing, I wondered why but was too nervous to ask her. It also became apparent to other people in the department that she had issues with my performance. Feeling paranoid, I began documenting every tiny detail about everything that I did. I had checklist upon checklist in case she would call me into her office. I was so miserable and nervous, and having a hard time functioning and focusing on my work. This was my livelihood and security which left me feeling incredibly vulnerable and this was an opportunity I desperately needed. Because I was fearful I put up with the confusing and unfriendly behavior for a while.
On one day in particular Susan requested an impromptu meeting and called me into her office. As I sat nervously in the chair in front of her desk, she pulled out some notes she had been keeping about my projects. Many of these projects I had completed and some I was unable to complete due to things beyond my control. I too had notes with me and I was prepared with everything I needed to update her on my projects. Susan expressed that she was not happy with my work or my documentation. She looked at me straight in the eyes and told me I needed to decide if I wanted a job or a career. She asserted that if I wanted a job, maybe this was not the place for me, and if I wanted a career, I needed to be more available, meaning earlier in and later out . At the time, I knew that this was not appropriate behavior and I knew that she had an issue with me from the beginning. I could only guess what that might be. Looking back on the situation (after many years) Susan and I were not congruent in our values. The disparate between us was that the amount of extra work hours put in meant to Susan a more committed and career-driven employee. I needed and valued having office hours within the eight-to-five window to accommodate my child’s daycare. Everyone else in the department seemed okay with working earlier or later, having no daycare concerns. Even though the company was not requiring me to work beyond the eight-to-five window, Susan modeled that as important.
Her attitude and behavior affected everyone, and because there was no check and balance on standards of behavior and respect, it continued. Although Susan was competent at her job, there had been no training provided for her on how to manage people and work to their strengths and develop their challenges. Susan was hired for the position because of her competency in her prior position, but not because of her ability or training to manage or lead people. This is a great example of The Peter Principle and halo effect.
Shortly after this meeting I found another job and left that company. I felt stressed, defeated, and like I failed. There didn’t appear to be any recourse within the company for me because Susan was considered very competent at her job. I was troubled by this for a long time. I remember trying so hard to do my best; it was an incredibly confusing and frustrating time. Self-doubt in my abilities was center-stage even though I had been promoted several times and had excellent performance reviews my experience with Susan over shadowed all of that.
This story is not uncommon. As I moved on and became involved in corporate sales and coaching, I saw this scenario repeat itself too many times to count. I have witnessed and heard stories from hundreds of people in different capacities of their careers with similar frustrations and feelings. Not specifically with a manager (a lot are) but within all areas of a company.
Our environment is so important to our health and well-being. Understandably, companies need well-skilled people to be successful and profitable, but profitability is compromised without good people skills and to effectively manage that communication.
Imagine a company’s potential if attention was given to the focus of developing managers and leaders as a standard. Imagine a work culture where all people are trained in modeling treating people with respect and understanding. Imagine a work place that addresses the importance of how people are treated, valued, listened to, and included? This approach might just make our world much kinder and everybody in it.
