Managers play a key role when it comes to employee engagement. In fact, it is well documented that the main reason employees voluntarily leave their jobs is not because of the company or their work – it’s because of their manager.
Why are managers driving employees away? One answer might be The Peter Principle. In their book, The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong, Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull state that “in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.” Basically, people grow within an organization to the point where they are promoted into a role that is beyond their skill set. If a manager has reached his or her “level of incompetence,” they become inept and ineffective in supporting their direct reports, colleagues, and customers. As a result, employees decide to leave the manager and the company suffers the loss.
Peter and Hull provide two solutions to this Principle: Pull and Push. “Pull” is defined as “an employee’s relationship—by blood, marriage, or acquaintance –with a person higher in the hierarchy.” Nepotism aside, companies should develop mentoring programs, offer tailored training, and/or provide formal coaching to their new promotes as a way to help them be more successful in their new roles. “Pull” relationships help draw employees into higher levels of the organization. When it comes to “Push”, it is the employee that is trying to propel him or herself into a higher level of the organization. This is accomplished through “training and general self-improvement.”
In most companies, these solutions are not translated into actions. Managers can, and do become obsolete because they no longer have the ability to help the company move forward.
I have a slightly different take on obsolescence. My belief is that it is every manager’s role to become obsolete…on their own terms. “Pull” is a solution you should use with your direct reports. Mentor, develop, and coach them so they are prepared to move into a higher level role with increased responsibility, i.e. your role. In a sense, make yourself obsolete. As manager, “‘Push” is vital if you want to continue to contribute, develop, and advance your career.
Take responsibility for yourself and continually look for ways to increase your knowledge as a manager and improve your skills in the context of an ever-changing business landscape. “Pull” your direct reports into your role and you’ll then be free to “Push” yourself to a higher level role within the organization. It is a win for your direct reports, you as a manager, and your company.
