I had a rough week at work. Lots of stress dealing with a person whose worth to the company is questionable at best. I ran across this on hr.com and found it chillingly relevant:
Incompetence, Defined
“What do we mean when we say someone is an incompetent?” asks Matthew Budman, managing editor of The Conference Board Review. “One definition: An incompetent is someone who is defined by his mistakes. Everyone makes the occasional error or bad decision or lapse in judgment. Most of them go unnoticed. But at some point, failure becomes the norm and even that person´s defining characteristic.”
Do They Know They´re Incompetent?
Of course, it´s not only the modern workplace that creates incompetence - the Principle holds that the hierarchy itself, through promotions, transforms capable workers into shaky bosses. “In addition, incompetence begets incompetence: Managers with poor judgment hand out assignments to the wrong people, delegate tasks to those who can´t handle them, and force others out of their zones of responsibility,” Budman writes. And despite workplace personality testing, companies keep putting the wrong people in charge. “Just think of all the books you´ve seen about dealing with toxic bosses, and consider that each of those toxic bosses was, at some point, promoted to that position of responsibility.”
You Can´t Just Fire Everyone
Comparatively few workers are what Peter termed “super-incompetents,” and companies tend to tolerate those whose performance is mediocre. “Firings are unpleasant for everyone involved,” Budman writes, “and it´s no wonder that it´s the solution of last resort.” To avoid making painful decisions, organizations kick incompetents upstairs, re-route important work around them, and go through other contortions.
Complete copy of “Can We Turn Back the Rising Tide of Incompetence?” by Matthew Budman is available here.
Tags: anger, Bad Decision, Delegate Tasks, Failure, Hierarchy, idiot, incompetence, Last Resort, Managing Editor, Matthew Budman, Norm, Occasional Error, Painful Decisions, Personality Testing, Poor Judgment, Principle, Promotions, Rising Tide, stress, Toxic Bosses, Work Stress, workplace, Wrong People In Charge
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:38 am
Thanks for the plug, Cappucino! The whole article is available here.
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:45 am
Thanks for stopping by Matthew! I really enjoyed your article.