Don’t “Peter Principle” Your Own People

You may have heard of the Peter Principle. It says people tend to rise to their level of incompetence.

The way it usually works is someone does well in one role, gets promoted into a bigger role, and eventually lands in a job they are not actually equipped to do well. It happens all the time.

But here’s the part leaders need to consider:

Sometimes the problem is not that the person lacked potential.

Sometimes the organization promoted them into failure.

One of the most common leadership mistakes organizations make is promoting high-performing employees into leadership roles without preparing them to lead.

A strong employee does great work. They’re dependable. They know the job. They produce. So you promote them.

You give them a handshake, maybe a raise, and some version of “go get ’em!”

But that’s not leadership development.

That’s wishful thinking.

A Different Job Requires Different Skills

The skills that make someone a strong individual contributor will not necessarily make them great at leading a team.

Doing the work well is one thing. Guiding others to do the work well is something else entirely.

New leaders have to learn how to communicate expectations, listen well, give feedback, address performance issues, and delegate effectively. And when they’ve been promoted internally, they have to do all of this while navigating the awkward shift from peer to leader.

A few exceptional people take it all in stride and find success quickly. The vast majority struggle.

In a survey we conducted with experienced leaders, 55% said they were expected to figure leadership out entirely on their own when they first stepped into a leadership role. That should get our attention.

These were not rookies answering hypothetically. These were seasoned leaders looking back and naming what was missing.

The most commonly identified need was listening and communication. That may sound basic, but basic does not mean easy. Most people believe they communicate well. Most believe they listen well.

But if we were all as good at those things as we think we are, there wouldn’t be nearly as many problems caused by unclear expectations, crossed wires, unresolved tension, and avoidable conflict. And there would not be nearly as many books trying to help us fix those problems.

Middle Leaders Carry More Than We Realize

This matters because first-line and middle leaders sit in a critical place.

Senior leaders may set the vision, but middle leaders translate that vision into daily action. If the executives are the architects, middle leaders are the builders. They are the ones helping the team understand what matters, what needs to happen, and how the work should get done.

If they are unsupported, the gap between executive vision and frontline execution gets wider. And the building starts looking very different from the blueprints.

Frustration grows. Culture breaks down. Good employees start to disengage.

And make no mistake: culture is not what an organization says it values. Culture is what is actually happening.

If new leaders are left to figure it out alone, that becomes part of the culture too.

Not Having a Plan Is a Plan

Every organization has a leadership development strategy.

Some are intentional.

Many are accidental.

But not having a plan is still a plan. It’s just usually a bad one.

Promoting someone because you see potential in them is good.

But potential still needs support.

New leaders need structure, training, coaching, feedback, and someone willing to walk with them as they learn. They don’t need to be perfect on day one. No one is.

But they shouldn’t be abandoned on day one either.

When you promote a high performer without preparing them for the people side of leadership, you’re not just taking a risk on them.

You may be setting them up to become the next example of the Peter Principle.

Don’t do that to your people.

Don’t promote them into failure.

Prepare them to lead.