In 1969, Dr. Laurence J. Peter coined “The Peter Principle,” which states: In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence.
Fifty-plus years later, this principle is still wreaking havoc in the Commercial MEP, Value-Engineering, and Customized Manufacturing industries.
It usually happens like this: You have a superstar Sales Executive. They crush their quota every quarter, they know the engineering inside and out, and the clients love them. When your VP of Sales retires, you naturally promote your top producer into the management seat.
Six months later, team morale is tanking, revenue is down, and your new VP is miserable. What happened?
- The Skills Don’t Translate The traits that make a great individual contributor are often the exact opposite of the traits that make a great manager.
- The Reality: A superstar Sales Rep is often fiercely independent, highly competitive, and laser-focused on their own pipeline. A successful Sales Manager needs to be patient, collaborative, and focused on coaching others to close. Assuming one set of skills automatically transfers to the other is a costly mistake.
- The Double Penalty When you promote the wrong person, you don’t just get a bad manager.
- The Reality: You suffer a double penalty: You gain an ineffective leader who frustrates the rest of your team, and you lose your best revenue producer from the field.
- How to Fix It: The Dual Career Track In many companies, the only way an employee can make more money or gain prestige is to move into management.
- The Strategy: Create a “Dual Career Track.” Allow your top-tier individual contributors (Senior Estimators, Elite Sales Execs) to earn management-level compensation and titles (e.g., “Principal” or “Senior Consultant”) without taking on direct reports. Reward them for what they do best.
The Bottom Line Management is a completely different profession than sales or estimating. Before you promote your top producer, test them for leadership aptitude, not just past performance.
Need a proven leader? Sometimes the best manager for your team isn’t currently on your payroll. Contact 2020 Search Partners to find experienced leadership talent that knows how to build and scale teams in the MEP and Manufacturing space.
