Yesterday, I posted a quote from Laurence Peter, creator of the Peter Principle, which states that "every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence." In other words, we move up in organizations until we find ourselves unable to do the work that is required.
I think this is true and that there is a simple explanation. People who are successful get promoted. Unfortunately, the positions that they are promoted into often require different strengths than those they possess. As they move up, they gradually move farther away from the situations that made them successful, the situations that fit their unique characteristics.
The best example is the salesperson who becomes the sales manager. The strengths, and corresponding weaknesses, of a great salesperson aren't necessarily suited to effective management.
What is the lesson? We need to be more concerned about finding the right fit than about moving up. Moving up usually means moving out of our sweet spot and might actually undermine our long-term success.
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