The Inevitability of Failure

Laurence J. Peter observed a common trend within organizations: many managers and project leaders often struggle in their roles. This raises the question: How did these individuals attain leadership positions despite their shortcomings?

The answer lies in their previous performance. They were likely quite proficient at their prior jobs. However, transitioning to a leadership role requires a completely different skill set than executing the tasks themselves. Promotion usually stems from excelling in your current role, but that doesn’t guarantee success at the next level.

According to the Peter Principle, individuals in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "level of respective incompetence."

A Practical Example

Consider the field of software engineering. As an entry-level engineer, your primary focus is on honing your coding skills to deliver functional features. You become adept at coding, understanding user needs, and tackling complex technical issues.

Then, you receive a promotion to senior engineer. Suddenly, your responsibilities expand. You’re expected to have a broader understanding of team initiatives, collaborate with other teams on complex features, write tickets, and assist junior developers.

Your role has fundamentally changed!

Assuming you excel in this new position, you may find yourself promoted again, this time to engineering manager. Now, your focus shifts significantly. You’re no longer coding as much; instead, your role revolves around supporting your team members, managing work coordination, resolving interpersonal conflicts, and conducting performance reviews.

Being a manager is a distinctly different role from that of an engineer, and there’s a possibility you might struggle in it, thus promoting yourself to incompetence.

The Cycle of Promotion

If you excel as an engineer, senior contributor, and manager, it’s a testament to a diverse skill set. However, such versatility isn’t common. Yet, you could still find yourself promoted to incompetence. If you thrive as a manager, you may then ascend to a director-level position, where your focus shifts to high-level planning, business strategy, and overseeing multiple teams.

Eventually, you could become a high-level executive responsible for setting strategic goals and delegating tasks across various teams. Each of these transitions represents a completely new job, and you may not be skilled at all of them!

The Reluctance to Downshift

Regrettably, you might struggle in your managerial role, yet resigning from it can feel unthinkable. After all, it offers better compensation and comes with the label of a "promotion." The fear of regressing in your career can prevent you from stepping back.

This dynamic explains why many organizations are plagued by ineffective managers, directors, and even senior engineers. Promotions can place you in roles where you feel inadequate. By embracing new responsibilities, you might find yourself less satisfied and less effective, yet the allure of salary and status keeps you anchored to that title.

Redefining Success

An essential lesson for software engineers, and indeed for any professional, is to establish what "enough" means for you. Corporations frequently encourage the chase for promotions, fostering competition among peers, often driving us to constantly strive for more.

However, if you can clarify your definition of "enough," you can concentrate on doing work that truly aligns with your strengths.

Defining Enough:

• Sufficient income
• Adequate status
• Appropriate authority
• Desired flexibility

Once you determine what constitutes "enough," there’s no need to continue pursuing higher positions or additional promotions. Those elevated roles may not necessarily enhance your experience; they could lead to discontent.

Avoiding Stagnation

Let’s be clear: reaching a state of "enough" doesn’t mean you should let your career stagnate. You should continue to seek new learning opportunities, cultivate relationships, mentor others, and refine your skills.

Additionally, take advantage of your flexibility to explore interests outside of work. Develop hobbies and establish boundaries that maintain your work-life balance.

Achieving "enough" signifies that you can thrive, rather than merely exist.