Let me tell you something that happens in almost every workplace, every industry, every country. It's not malicious. Nobody plans it. But it costs organisations a fortune and quietly crushes good people along the way.
It's called the Peter Principle, and once you see it, you can't unsee it.
The idea is simple: people get promoted because they're good at their current job. Makes sense, right? Gary on the workshop floor is your best mechanic. Turns up on time, knows every engine, customers love him. So you make Gary the floor lead. Why wouldn't you?
Here's the problem. Being brilliant at fixing engines doesn't automatically make you brilliant at managing people, running rosters, handling conflict, or running a project. Sometimes it does. But often, it doesn't. And that's where things start to go sideways.
Gary is now struggling. He's out of his depth but he's not going to say that, and honestly, why would he? He's finally been seen. He worked hard for years and someone noticed. He's proud of the title. He told his family. He's not about to raise his hand and say "actually, I think I've made a terrible mistake.
Meanwhile, his manager knows something is off. But Gary is such a good bloke. Everyone loves him. The manager doesn't want to demoralise him, doesn't want to lose him altogether, so nothing gets said. And there Gary sits, uncomfortable in his new role, no longer doing the thing he was genuinely excellent at, while the team slowly starts to feel it too.
That's the Peter Principle in full swing. People rise to their level of incompetence, and then they get stuck there.
Now I want to be careful here because this is not a criticism of Gary. Gary is not the problem. The system is the problem, and so is the silence around it.
As leaders, we have a responsibility to have the honest conversations that nobody else will. Not to embarrass anyone, not to punish them, but to actually serve the person in front of us.
And here's what I've come to believe: one of the most genuinely helpful things you can do for someone who's struggling in a new role is to open a door they didn't know was there.
You can offer mentoring, support, a real investment in helping them grow into the role. Sometimes that's the right path. But sometimes you also need to gently say, "Look, stepping back is an option. No foul, no harm, no shame. You were a champion at what you did before. That value doesn't disappear."
The best outcome for Gary might not be becoming a great floor lead. It might be going back to being the best mechanic in the building, respected, engaged, and actually happy at work.
What we aspire to and what we're built for aren't always the same thing. And there's no shame in that. The shame, if there is any, is in staying silent while someone suffers quietly in a job that doesn't fit them.
Leadership isn't just about filling roles. It's about putting people in positions where they can genuinely thrive. Sometimes that means making a promotion. And sometimes it means having the courage to say, "You don't have to stay there."
Do what you love. Excel at what you're actually built for. Not what you think you're supposed to aspire to.
That's not failure. That's wisdom.