5 ms·

NEVER work for someone who is incapable of doing your job. To do so is to construct an extremely dangerous, brittle situation. This doesn't mean they SHOULD d

NEVER work for someone who is incapable of doing your job. To do so is to construct an extremely dangerous, brittle situation. This doesn't mean they SHOULD do your job, or HAVE to - just that, they could - and are therefore qualified to manage you - while you do it. The Peter Principle is real, and legitimately a source of massive waste and inefficiency in the world. Simply refuse to work for someone that cannot do what you are expected to do - and you will be building a better organizational framework. The corollary is interesting: don't try to manage someone if you can't actually do their job, either.

cgrealy 4y ago
The Peter Principle is explicitly about the risks of someone being promoted into a role they can’t do because they were good at a role they could do. People should be made people leads because they are good people leads, not because they are good ICs.
- boffinAudio 4y ago
  The Peter Principle equally applies to those who have to serve under others who were promoted out of their competence zone. It works in multiple ways: don't allow yourself to be promoted outside of your competence zone, don't work for those who have been. >People should be made people leads because they are good people leads, not because they are good ICs. Good people leads don't lead people whose jobs they can't do. That's the point: if your boss can't do what you do, he's not leading - he's letting you lead, while following along on an elevated, speciously constructed platform. Don't fall for it - always demand competence from your own leadership.
  - cgrealy 4y ago
    > Good people leads don't lead people whose jobs they can't do. That just doesn't work. I don't need to know how you achieved something to know I want it done. Unless you expect every people lead to have all the skills of all their reports, so each level becomes exponentially more impossible to achieve.

cgrealy 4y ago

The Peter Principle is explicitly about the risks of someone being promoted into a role they can’t do because they were good at a role they could do. People should be made people leads because they are good people leads, not because they are good ICs.

boffinAudio 4y ago
The Peter Principle equally applies to those who have to serve under others who were promoted out of their competence zone. It works in multiple ways: don't allow yourself to be promoted outside of your competence zone, don't work for those who have been. >People should be made people leads because they are good people leads, not because they are good ICs. Good people leads don't lead people whose jobs they can't do. That's the point: if your boss can't do what you do, he's not leading - he's letting you lead, while following along on an elevated, speciously constructed platform. Don't fall for it - always demand competence from your own leadership.
- cgrealy 4y ago
  > Good people leads don't lead people whose jobs they can't do. That just doesn't work. I don't need to know how you achieved something to know I want it done. Unless you expect every people lead to have all the skills of all their reports, so each level becomes exponentially more impossible to achieve.