You’ve probably heard of the book The Peter Principle, which states that everyone in an organization keeps on getting promoted until they reach their level of incompetence. Do you want that to happen to you?
I was talking to a senior manager recently, taking him through T&P’s Strengths Cards. We focused on his ambition to be promoted, and whether his strengths would stand him in good stead for the next role. It dawned on him for the first time that the strengths required for his manager’s role were not ones he possessed – in fact, 3 of the top 5 requirements were areas that he’d identified as personal weaknesses. He suddenly realised that his manager’s job wasn’t for him – he wouldn’t enjoy it and wouldn’t be successful in it. We talked further, and he was able to reassess what mattered to him, and the key ways in which he added real value. This led to discussing what roles would be really enjoyable; how he might find or create a new type of role; and how to refocus his ambitions to drive a successful career which he looked forward to every day.
What do you need to do to drive your career in the right direction? Can you avoid mindlessly pursuing promotion up the hierarchy until you reach a role that is stressful and you aren’t very good at?
Here are 7 habits that will help you escape the Peter Principle.
- Know your strengths that add real value – what are you really good at, those defining strengths you’ve always possessed which energise you, and which are the key ways in which you add measurable value? Understanding and developing our strengths is like rocket fuel – it can really boost our careers, helping us stand out from the crowd. Instead of focusing on promotion – focus on how you can add maximum value by doing more of what you are excel at and really enjoy! With a great reputation for a particular skill, you can often shape and negotiate your own role, rather than apply for standard roles.
- Get objective feedback on how you add value – ask people! Often people undervalue their strengths because the work comes so easily to them. What do others see as the ways you add real value? Can you actively pursue a career to spend more time doing this kind of work?
- Manage your weaknesses – work out whether a weakness is due to a lack of experience that you’d enjoy the challenge to develop, and what are your ‘black beasts’ – those things you’ve never liked because you know you aren’t good at them and have no real interest in developing. Can you hand over parts of your work to others who love this work? For example, if you are poor at detail make sure you have someone in your team who excels at it who can back you up. Or if you are not good at getting your team to bond and socialise, find someone who’d love to create social events for the team. Make sure you value these supporters – and acknowledge their contribution to your success!
- Focus on strengths-based development – having gained a realistic, rounded view of yourself, decide what self-directed development you’d enjoy undertaking, which will improve your performance and abilities for future roles you may aspire to. Make enjoyment a key criterion for selecting the development you undertake! If you get good at point 3 (getting others to support your weaknesses), then your career will develop faster if you develop a 70% skill to 80%, than if you improve a 10% skill to 20%. And it will be much more fun! Develop a really grounded action plan which outlines what development you want to undertake, what success will look like, and what tools and techniques will help you gain and embed the new skills.
- Learn the art of self-reflection – high flyers typically set aside an hour a week to reflect on their progress towards key goals. Make time to reflect on how you are developing in your current role and what you are doing to develop others in turn. It’s well known that mentors gain as much development from their mentee as vice versa – because of the reflection it generates in us and the opportunity to see issues from someone else’s perspective.
- Measure your successes – if you want people to value your strengths, it really helps if you can show how they’ve paid dividends for the business!
- Shape the jobs you take and refuse promotions when needed – as you consider future moves (whether sideways, upwards, or downwards to gain breadth of experience and skills), consider whether your strengths will be a good match to the new role. It’s just as important to know which jobs to politely refuse as which to accept. Can you negotiate at the point of accepting a job, to shape it more to your strengths? Can you take the initiative to discuss and design your perfect role with your senior management?
TAKE AWAY
Take ownership of your strengths and be brave enough to carve your own career path. True career fulfilment is gaining a sense of mastery, and finding your role challenging in all the right ways.