Are all Leaders Incompetent? Beating the Peter Principle

Episode #50 // Many of you will have heard of “The Peter Principle”; the concept that every employee in a hierarchy rises to their level of incompetence. If you believe this, then anyone who has been in the same role for an extended period of time is, by definition, incompetent.We look at the Peter Principle, take a recent perspective from The Economist called “Bartleby’s Curse”, and blend it all with Elliott Jaques’ stratum theory, to arrive at a “No Bullsh!t Leadership” view of career ambition and organisational progression.How do you beat the Peter Principle so that you build a career that challenges and satisfies you, without experiencing the deep dissatisfaction that comes when you spend a lifetime heading towards the wrong goals?In this episode I also recommend that you go back and listen to Episode 7 Working At The Right Level: What got you to here won’t get you to there.Your boss wants more with less. Your team wants less, full stop. You're stuck in the middle.Leadership Beyond the Theory is 9 weeks to promotion-ready leadership.2,800+ leaders from 150+ organisations. 99% would recommend.Doors are now open for the June 2026 cohort, they close Fri 26 June!Join the cohort here: https://go.leadershipbeyondthetheory.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.