We’ve all heard of the Peter Principle, the idea that in organizations, individuals rise to their highest level of incompetence. I’ve seen this happen time after time in organizations because when we look for those to promote, we tend to look at those who do their current job best.

So, in other words we tend to promote the best bank teller to Head Teller; the best customer service representative to Team Lead and so on. This dynamic tends to be repeated over and over again as we make our way up the organizational hierarchy. If we are the best at our job, we are brought to the attention of those above us and we get considered for higher level positions with greater and greater levels of leadership responsibility.

Sooner or later we will either find ourselves at the very top of the hierarchy with no more steps to take up or we find ourselves in a position where we’re no longer able to be the best in the position; we’ve reached our highest level of incompetence.

Being a Specialist

Over time I’ve observed that those that tend to hit their peak organizational level, especially while still farther down in the hierarchy tend to be those that we would consider specialists. They are very good at the technicalities of their job, but because they are so good at the technicalities and they have a deep knowledge of their field and position, they tend to become pigeonholed as an expert since other folks fail to see beyond this expertise and never consider that the individual knows anything else.

When we get pigeonholed as being a specialist, it becomes harder for us be seen as a leader, except in the area of our expertise. A lot of this has to do with the fact that when we are very good at what we do we are seen to have expertise power related to the work that we do. Unless we also happen to have an incredible amount of personal charisma, we will continually be known just as the expert in our area.

Being Deeply Read

Many of us go through our career trying to get a leg up on our co-workers by trying to accumulate as much knowledge as we can about our field or specific area. In fact, most corporate training programs support this activity by requiring that in order to receive reimbursement for workshops or courses, the material has to be relevant to our current job.

Also, take a look at the work related reading materials that you’ve recently looked at. I’d be willing to bet that they are all specifically related to your job or your industry.

To me, all of this emphasis on job or industry specific knowledge acquisition ends up making us deeply read…in one area. But some of our greatest thinkers have always been widely read, learning things from seemingly unrelated areas. This is what makes for leaders who can think strategically.

Being Widely Read

Twice I’ve worked for executive leaders who were examples of individuals who are widely read. Besides reading and keeping up on their respective industries, they also read more widely and were able to put into practice things that they learned that were unrelated to their own fields.

The first one worked with delinquent and at-risk youth. Because of his love of the outdoors, he found successful ways to combine what he learned about outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, rock climbing and other adventure-based activities with supporting the needs of both delinquent and at-risk youth and the systems they were part of.

The second one, after reading about studies run by one of the major telecommunication company recognized that his own company was falling short of retaining their clients because they were focusing on “satisfied” customers as opposed to “very satisfied” customers. This change lead to more focused attention on customer service that creates “very satisfied” customers.

There is no denying that we need to keep up with our field so that we understand the nature of our own business as things change. But if we want to be leaders that can think and act strategically, we also need be more widely read and be able to bring ideas from outside the field into our work. This isn’t just being strategic, it will help us to be innovative.

Leader’s Reflection: When we focus all of our learning on our specific job or field we become deeply read on the subject. Leaders who are able to think strategically are more widely read, finding unrelated information that can be synthesized into current practices.

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In my senior year of college, way back when I was 20 years old, I had a business experience that I can point to as being one of the defining moments of my leadership development.

This defining moment came from taking a specific course, a 400 level strategic management course. Most business schools have an equivalent course, one students take towards the end of their degree program that has the student look at big picture decision making. You know, the kind of decision making that executive leaders need to make every day.

The interesting thing looking back on this now is that I can’t for the life of me remember the instructor, the book or even most of the material. But I do remember this: It was during this course that my organizational thinking changed from viewing the world as one of “us” to understanding the view of “them”.

It was during this course that I started to see the world through the lens of “them”. Even in my early career when I was still at the bottom of the organizational food chain, I was able to understand decisions that were handed down from on high because I was able to see the big picture; the same view seen by “them”.

I think that this single ability, my ability to view the world as “they” see it has not only served me well through out my career but has distinguished me as a leader in each of the organizations that I’ve been a part of.

“Us” and “Them”

There is no doubt that an “us” and “them” mentality existing in many organizations. The “us” who make up the lower levels of the organization can’t understand why “they” in the higher levels of the organization make the decisions that they do.

Meanwhile, the “them” in the higher levels of the organization can’t understand why the “us” at the lover levels of the organization always seem so unmotivated or are always complaining.

To me, some of this is no different than the typical generational gap that has plagued parents and teenagers forever. Teens think that their parents just don’t understand what it’s like to be a teenager today. Even though we “grown ups” were once teenagers ourselves. And of course, now that we’re all grown up we can’t understand why our teenagers act the way they do. We certainly didn’t act that way at their age.

The same thing happens in organizations, those in the lower levels of the organization forget that those at the top were once at the bottom and have dealt with the work and the issues. However, the folks at the top tend to be dealing with issues that are broader than those in the lower levels are used seeing. And there is the key to the whole dynamic.

It’s About Perspective

This whole “us” and “them” issue is really one of perspective. The main differences between “us” and “them” is how they see the world. “Us” tend to look at the organizational world through the narrow view of the current job they are doing. When decisions are made on high, those decisions are seen by “us”, not through the impact on organization, but through the impact on how I do my job.

“Them”, because of where they’re situated in the organizational hierarchy, tend to look at the organizational world through the much wider lens of the entire organization. When decisions are made, they look at how the decision impacts the entire organization AND individual areas. Sometimes needing to keep a delicate balance between the two and not always succeeding.

Leaders Need to View the World Like “Them”

I’ve watched folks who have been moving through their careers for as long as I have but keep getting stalled out because of this “us” and “them” view of the world. They continue to view the organizational world as one of “us”, never fully seeing the big organizational picture and it always stymies their progress. They may be the best at what they do, but the “us” view keeps them from being offered positions of leading others.

Looking back on it now, I’m grateful for the strategic management course that caused my thinking to change allowing me to be able to understand the view that “they” see. It has allowed me be in a better position to help move the organizations I’ve been a part of move further forward.

Leader’s Reflection: The “us” and “them” dynamic in organizations is one of perspective. Those in the lower levels of organizations tend to see the organization through the view of their current job. Leaders need to view the organization through the wider lens of the entire organization.

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This is Part 6 in a series of articles that introduce the main ideas about Reflection Leadership.

Leaders have a responsibility to not only pay attention to those things that are happening within the organization but also those things that are happening outside of the control of the organization. What happens outside of the organization helps to shape the activities inside of the organization.

As leaders, when we are able to look outside of the organization, we’re able to scan the environment in which we operate for various threats and opportunities. Our ability to recognize the importance of outside factors can many times mean the difference in a highly competitive environment.

Organizations don’t operate in a vacuum and understanding the environment in which we do business is just as important as understanding our followers, having a clear vision, and having appropriate organizational systems. When we are able to stop and reflect on our environment we are able to shape our organization to leverage the outside forces.

Practicing Environment Reflection

As with the other areas of Reflection Leadership, the most important thing to being able to practice Environment Reflection is to be able to take the time to stop and look around. In this case, it is important to be able to get our heads up above the day-to-day grind in our own organization to be able to see what is going on outside and to recognize those things that will most influence our work. Environmental Reflection starts with being able to ask questions like:

Who are our direct and indirect competitors?
Which way is the economy heading and how will it affect us?
Are there trends happening in society that we can use as opportunities for our organization?
Are there trends happening in society that are threats to our organization?
What is the current state of governmental regulation related to our organization and is likely to change?

When we are able to take the time to ask these types of questions we are able to begin understanding the context in which our organization operates.

Environment Reflection is a way to regularly take a look at what is going on around the organization that can affect it’s operations. By taking the time to reflect on what is happening outside of the organization, we can recognize opportunities early enough to be able to take advantage of them. We are also able to recognize threats to the organization in time to lessen any damage these threats may pose. Once we are able to reflect on external factors that influence our organization, we are able to go back and reflect on those things that are internal to the organization with a different understanding of where we stand in relation to the world around us.

Even though many of the things that we find when we practice Environment Reflection are beyond our control they are nevertheless extremely important. Since no organization operates in a vacuum it is our ability to respond to external forces, either from a positive or negative perspective, that determines our effectiveness as leaders. Environment Reflection allows us to take the time to understand what is going on around the organization. It also allows us to reflect on what these external factors mean to the organization and how best to use what we have found to the greatest advantage of the organization.

As effective leaders, we also have to be able to articulate what we see outside of the organization and how we interpret what it means for the organization. Doing this is important so that everyone in the organization can understand when we have to make changes to what we are doing or to our systems or vision it is because of outside influences.

Are there certain external influences that you have had to pay particular attention to? How have you been able to practice Environment Reflection to help you understand the environment that your organization operates in?

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