People who are successful in their current jobs will be promoted until they finally reach a position in which they are not competent. Once in such a position, they frustrate their subordinates, do not make the best decisions and overall cause efficiency to diminish.
In a hierarchical organisation, employees will advance to a higher level so long as they fulfil their duties competently, This, however, does not mean the higher-ranked positions are more demanding: they perhaps just require a different set of skills. For example, an engineer with outstanding technical skills may be placed in the position of a project manager, where s/he finds out that s/he lacks the interpersonal skills which are key in the new job.
In the 1960s, Laurence Peter discovered that people being promoted will eventually attain positions they cannot handle. This is called “The Peter Principle”. How to avoid a situation where employees promoted because of their achievements and merits will rise to their level of incompetence is a difficult question. The businessknowhow.com website tries to answer it and suggests these points to help your organisation not to become a victim of the Peter Principle.
1. Establish an “up or out” policy: an employee who fails to advance through promotion or skills development has to leave the company.
2. If there is a talented worker who will probably not be a good leader, allow them the opportunity to do their best in their current position but do not give them the duties of a leader.
3. Promote only those who have shown that they have the skills needed to succeed at the next level.
4. Watch your star employees progressing through the hierarchy. If an incompetent manager, who feels threatened by their success, resents them and resists developing and promoting them, you should intervene.
5. No promotions solely on the basis of effort: promote only those with results. In business, effort alone is not enough.
6. Evaluate those who evaluate. How have their past recommendations for promotion worked out?
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