Yesterday, we reminded you that the Peter Principle has a logical corollary:
“Peter's Corollary states that, in time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out his duties… Work is [therefore] accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence.”
I met with part of the executive team of a very large real estate company in the Seattle area yesterday. During part of the meeting, the discussion focused on how some people are “wired” to perform certain tasks with a high level of proficiency.
As the discussion progressed, the General Manager of this group mentioned that their company had collected assessment data demonstrating that their best managers had substantially different make-ups than their best sales people.
I was shocked. Why? Because this company naturally acknowledged this reality. It was refreshing because we work with the executive teams of so many different companies who have still not grasped this concept. They may acknowledge it on the surface, but their actions reveal their true beliefs.
Let me give you an example of a more typical encounter – A couple of years ago, the owner of a regional insurance company looked me in the eye and said:
“I will never use an assessment for hiring because I took the [common surface trait assessment] and it suggested I would not be good at sales. But I was the best salesperson this company has ever had!”
In this case, the assessment he took was not built for hiring, and the profile that was being used as a benchmark was not designed for his specific company. These are both tactical problems that would need to be solved, but the bigger problem is this executive’s basic belief system.
He believes that his remarkable capacity to start and build a successful insurance company would be very similar to the recipe of capacities necessary to successfully perform the day-to-day sales function in his company. This is right where Peter’s Corollary comes into play. Remember….
"Work is [therefore] accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence.”
If the Owner hires people like himself, he will likely end up with new employees who perform well quickly, but then get bored and want to do more than just sell. If an interesting, short-term opportunity is not available in the company, they’ll leave to find that opportunity. These people simply are not wired to perform the day-to-day sales function for a long period of time.
Let’s suppose that at some point in the future a Sales Manager position opens up. With the Owner’s paradigm (“I was the best salesperson this company has ever had!”), who will he choose for the position? That's right, someone who has a proven sales record!
You can see how seductive our natural tendencies are concerning the realities of the Peter Principle. If you’re coaching or managing people, acknowledge that their highest and best contribution at work will be below their level of incompetence.
Don’t arbitrarily push people into an arena where they do not have the natural capacities to perform. Instead, work on helping them gain proficiency in the area where their natural talents already align with the tasks in that role. Certainly, there are times where a job change makes sense, but careful not to react in a manner that would make a good illustration for the next Dilbert cartoon.
