Ever Wondered Why the Idiot Next to You Gets Promoted and You Don’t

It’s not your fault — this is who is really to blame

You would think job performance has an eeny-weeny-tiny part to play in a promotion.

It doesn’t.

It never has.

There is no connection between performance and promotion.

Some will tell you different — that there is a procedure to connect the two. But that’s as naïve as believing in tooth fairies or political party manifestos.

We had the ‘bunfight’.

The bunfight

This involved senior bosses and heads of departments getting locked together in a small room to discuss who they should promote.

There would be a ding dong argument and whoever shouted loudest for their favourite would get him or her promoted.

I’m not sure why they called it the bunfight, but I pictured several of our more intimidating bosses throwing various choices of patisseries at each other.

You might think it is a fair method of promoting someone — if you got promoted. Otherwise, it's all a conspiracy to keep you firmly stuck to your current chair.

Favouritism is an improper way to run a promotion process. Forward-thinking companies consign the bunfight to the bin — where it belongs.

But no matter what method is used, the Peter Principle comes into play.

The Peter Principle

Is a management theory that states employees stop getting promoted once they reach a rank in which they are incompetent.

It explains why so many short-tempered, unsympathetic, social-inepts end up in positions of power.

A multi-national company that finds itself saddled with an ineffective executive nudges the underachiever into a job in which he can do no harm.

“Steve, we need you to sort out our branch office in Timbuktu.”

It happened in my organisation.

Competent workers earned their promotions. Competent managers received deserved promotions to more senior positions, and so on.

However, as soon as they mucked up or bungled the job, they stayed where they were. That is The Peter Principle. Once they no longer perform effectively, they stop being promoted.

Thus, managers rise to their level of incompetence.

We didn’t have a branch office in Timbuktu, but we had meaningless projects — which were much the same thing. Incompetent managers were removed from their roles and given a small cupboard in the basement where they had to count the paper clips.

Since everyone rises to their level of incompetence, and there are only so many cupboards in the basement — some incompetent bosses had to stay where they were and in charge.

You aren’t incompetent

Whether you are waiting for your first promotion, or you have been stuck in a role for so long you are beginning to think — maybe I’m that incompetent boss. You aren’t.

It has nothing to do with you.

You are not being promoted further for a very good reason — The Peter Principle.

It’s because your immediate boss is incompetent and doesn’t appreciate just how dazzlingly brilliant you are.

See how the Peter Principle works!

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