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You likely have heard of the concept called the Peter Principle: ‘People get promoted one level above the competencies and capabilities’; or, ‘managers rise to the level of their incompetence.’

The Peter Principle is a management concept that proposes that the selection of a candidate for any position is based on their current role & performance rather than their abilities to perform in the intended role. Thus, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively.

Nice Eh!

Promoted and feel good about yourself;

Promoted and feel good about yourself;

Promoted and feel good about yourself;

Promoted and then FAIL!!

I am coaching a brilliant and intelligent person who has recently been promoted to a program manager with four coordinators as direct reports. She has just realized that she is the ham in the sandwich squished between senior managers and her direct reports.

She came to me after hearing my keynote where I described a soup-sandwich and she does not want her career ending up like two pieces of bread soaked in soup. Her promotion has landed her squarely in the middle of competing for business priorities, interests and influence & power. She feels the constant squeeze of pressure from above and below. She has to influence peers, build partnerships and survive small ‘p’ politics every day.

She is perfectly fine being the ham in the sandwich, but she has no intention of turning her career into a soup sandwich.

What the heck is a soup sandwich

How did I help her adjust and set her up to thrive in her new role? I gave her these 6 tools:

1. Slow Down & Think: Organise your day, so you have time to observe what is happening around you. Look for the big picture, patterns in relationships and the trade-offs that people are making to get their work done. These are the reality of the complexities of organizations.  Develop an understanding and empathy for others — but let their busy work get in your way and allow you to lose focus.”

Click here to read how Attila the Hun says Thank You

2. Life is hard, Learn to manage It:  Handling stress, uncertainty and setbacks are part of your work life, and you need to maintain grace & balance while under pressure. If you can’t find balance, these pressures will go home with you and directly impact your home and family life.

3. Don’t Communicate, Listen & Talk: Communication is a core competency, and you will be required to express ideas to a wide range of audiences. But never forget that effective communication is also about listening, asking questions, and aligning words and actions.

Click Here to Read about Walking the Talk

4. Influence: No manager is an island, and even Tsars and dictators need cooperation to get things done. In today’s matrixed organizations, position or expertise alone isn’t enough. It is important to develop styles to help you get different people with different perspectives on board.

Click here to read more about the Big Bang Theory and Leading

5. Keep Learning: Seeking opportunities to learn and learn quickly. To be good at anything requires some knowledge, skills, and technical know-how. I have become a HUGE proponent of Podcasts and Webinars so I can learn while walking the dog & driving.

6. Be Self-Aware: It is important that you understand your style and strengths. But it is vital to fully understand your weaknesses & shortcomings because these will inevitably prevent you from navigating you’re within your organization.

Everybody knows bad leadership can be costly.

It leads to turnover, workplace stress, and decreased cooperation, costing businesses billions yearly. But can leadership kill?

Many of us have attended keynotes or workshops that focus on plane crashes. We listen in on the final flight deck conversations between the chilling co-pilots and captains, which crash. Chilling, not just because you hear the crash, was avoidable.

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell talks about cultural power-distance gaps and how they contribute to plane crashes and near-miss accidents. And as a frequent flyer, I am glad steps are being taken to reduce power differentials in the cockpit. They are focusing on precisely the right thing: leadership behaviour.

But what about cultures of leadership that kill in less apparent ways than a dramatic air crash?

I think you will find Dr. Greta G. Cummings of the University of Alberta’s YouTube presentation of interest, where she quantifies the impact of leaders of healthcare centres on patient mortality.

Astoundingly her study shows that poor leadership styles contribute to a 6% mortality rate in healthcare facilities.

That is, 6 out of 100 deaths are directly connected to ambiguous communication styles and expectations of the facility’s leadership.

Maybe the impact of unhealthy leadership in your organization is not as dire as to result in a death …

 But what is bad behaviour costing?

I was challenged by a regular reader of my blog.

She is a middle manager struggling with a large company where the executive team drives everything that goes on in the organization. 

Her question: how can I help my organization if I’m not the CEO? 

I have two answers for her and you. 

First, while you may not be the CEO, you influence your part of the organization. 

How To Lead Without Responsibility

By focusing on how to impact your department two things are going to happen: you’ll get a sense of accomplishment as you see progress, and your circle of influence will begin to grow as people will see what you’re doing and they may ask you to help them. 

Secondly, most great leaders appreciate and need someone to tell them the “truth” about what is going on within the organization and how they can be better leaders and managers. 

If you can find the courage to tell a leader what he or she needs to hear with humility and respect, you’ll be shocked at how often those leaders appreciate and even listen to your advice. 

Of course, it is entirely up to them whether they accept you say, but that’s not your problem.  And, in my experience, a good boss will rarely cause you any negative repercussions. 

Being Courageous

And even if there were to be a cost for speaking the truth, it is better knowing that now so you can think about finding work where leaders reward people for having the courage to make the organization better.

It couldn’t be said more simply than this Quora response:

Knowledge is knowing a desert path is 16 kilometres long.

Wisdom is building a lemonade stand at kilometre 6.

To run a healthy organization, a leader must place a higher premium on wisdom over knowledge.

It seems that we spend most of our time acquiring information and not enough time thinking about what to do with it.  

How do leaders gain wisdom?

First, stop spending so much time acquiring knowledge.

Leaders who are constantly consuming industry information and the latest trends can become distracted by what is new and shiny.  

Instead of searching for a magic bullet, the best leaders spend more time with their leadership team members:

1. Ensuring there is a clear and widely understood strategic vision;
2. Implementing plans to meet their objectives and ensure that the efficiencies and effectiveness achieved support delivery of the vision; and,
3. Monitoring and maintaining a laser-like focus on its strategic goals and objectives.

There is no argument for professional ignorance.   

But, there is an argument for knowing how to take the collective knowledge of the organization, apply the right amount of wisdom to put it to good use.

“Knowledge is understanding that a tomato is a fruit.  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”  

Leadership is not about being the smartest person in the room, or the smartest person in the company.

It is about not putting tomatoes in the fruit salad, leaving employees wondering “how could someone be so stupid?”

We have all had one of those days – lots on our plate – and your Boss show up at your door without a coffee for you and says “Sorry to interrupt how about those Blue Jays? Oh Yeah, one more thing. We need to add something to that Bloggins’ project.”

Let’s break that down:

“Sorry to interrupt.” – Translation: They aren’t even remotely sorry

“One more thing.” – Translation: A big add-on but DON’T go overtime and meeting all your other priorities.

“We need to add…” – Translation: “You need to do.”

The next time someone tries to put more work on your shoulders—when you’re already at max capacity—here’s how to respond to a:

Supervisor or Manager:

I can take this on, but I’d like to review something with you before I proceed.

Right now, my current priorities are: [list them in order].

Would you like this new assignment to be my top priority?

If so, that’s no problem, but it means that all my other projects will get completed slightly later.

I can create a timeline of when everything will be completed if that’s helpful to you.

Thanks!

Colleague:

I can help you with this. However, right now I am working on a different project that’s a top priority for my department.

I’m working on a deadline, and I need to stay focused and keep progressing.

I’ll be able to switch gears and attend to your request [at/on] [time / date].

Thank you for understanding!

Client:

Thanks for [writing / stopping by]. I can help you with this.

But first, let’s talk about the other items that I’m currently working on for you.

Right now, I’m working on: [list them in order].

If we add this new piece to the list, I’ll need to bill you for an additional [$$$].

It also means that the timeline we initially agreed upon will need to shift. [describe the new dates, timing, etc.]

Are you OK with the additional cost and new timeline?

If so, [tell me / write back to say]: “Greenlight! Go!”

Remember, whoever is making this “ridiculous and unreasonable” request is probably just as swamped and stressed out as you are or it could be a genuine crisis. In either case, these scripts might not be appropriate, so have some empathy and try to be compassionate.

No matter how colleagues choose to communicate with you (rudely, coldly, crazily), you can still be professional and polite when you respond.

Be patient. Stay cool. Speak firmly.

You’re a senior leader in an age of unrelenting change.

And you know your organization needs to undergo a major change to remain profitable and viable.

You’ve committed significant organizational power to prepare for the change. You are there and ready, but is your team?

Watch the video about why your team is scared stupid about change.

How Can You Assess Readiness for Change?

Leaders underestimate the effort it will take to implement and sustain organizational change and the operational and people issues that can derail any change.

They are so caught up in keeping the business operational and profitable that they fail to take the time to sufficiently plan change.

Is My Organization Ready for Change?

You must get answers to the following three questions:

1. How ready are the leaders in my company for the change?

Are your direct reports truly committed to supporting this change or are they just giving lip service?

How your managers feel about the proposed changes as change efforts stall at lower management levels in the organization. Can you answer the following questions?

• Are your direct reports effective sponsors for this change?
• Do managers in your organization communicate effectively with their team members?
• Which managers will be major obstacles to implementing this change?

You may be surprised to learn how much work your managers need before you begin an organizational change and that some restructuring may be necessary.

2. How ready is my organization for this change?

Even though you have the support of enough critical stakeholders to make a meaningful organizational change. You may not get the change outcomes that you need because your company is not ready for change because of its various policies, practices, and working culture.

You will need to determine how ready your organization is for change are the following:

• Does your organization measures business performance?
• Does this change effort support the whole organization?
• Does your organizational culture reward or punish innovation, taking risks, and solving problems?

You’ll want to look at your existing processes, employees, and suppliers and assess whether they are ready for the change you need to make.

3. How ready are my employees for this organizational change?

Employees are critical to the successful implementation of any change effort. When employees are not ready for change and are forced to do so by management, they will resist.

This resistance can range from indifference (loss of interest in their work), to passive (doing only what they are told to do), and to active (sabotaging the effort with deliberate errors or by slowing down).

To minimize employee resistance, you will need to determine how ready your employees are for change by asking:

• • • Do your employees understand your customers’ needs?
    • What is the state of employee morale in the organization?
    • Do your employees feel personally responsible for their success in the organization?

 Download Your 9 Question Readiness Assessment by Clicking Here

By assessing the readiness of your managers, organization, and your employees before launching a change, you will have a realistic overview of what is needed to implement successful organizational change.

And you’ll understand the sustained time and commitment needed to undertake a meaningful organizational change in your company.