The Peter Principle — Why People Rise to Their Level of Incompetence

The Peter Principle, and if you’ve ever looked around your office and wondered how some people got promoted — this one’s for you.

Let’s get smarter.

Dr. Laurence J. Peter introduced the Peter Principle in a 1969 satirical book titled The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong. But don’t let the humor fool you — the insight is disturbingly real. The principle says:

“In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence.”

What does that mean in plain English? It means that people in organizations are often promoted based on how well they’re doing in their current role — not on whether they’re well-suited for the next one. Eventually, they’re promoted into a role they’re not equipped for… and they stop rising. That’s where they stay — ineffective, underperforming, and often quietly making everyone else’s job harder.