People promoted beyond their ability

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 25-05-2017 2:05pm #1

Someone in here has been promoted beyond their ability. They spend their time trying to foist work on to others, insisting they're too busy to do half the stuff they should be doing, while walking around with a haughty, important air.

They're not fooling anyone, but it's very annoying. Just wondering if any of you have had to work with people who've had a promotion and prove to be completely inadequate to the job?

Jesus Wept · 25-05-2017 2:07pm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle

Jobs OXO · 25-05-2017 2:07pm

Alyson Polite Podiatry wrote: »

Someone in here has been promoted beyond their ability. They spend their time trying to foist work on to others, insisting they're too busy to do half the stuff they should be doing, while walking around with a haughty, important air.

They're not fooling anyone, but it's very annoying. Just wondering if any of you have had to work with people who've had a promotion and prove to be completely inadequate to the job?

Someone in where ?

duffman13 · 25-05-2017 2:08pm

Alyson Polite Podiatry wrote: »

Someone in here has been promoted beyond their ability. They spend their time trying to foist work on to others, insisting they're too busy to do half the stuff they should be doing, while walking around with a haughty, important air.

They're not fooling anyone, but it's very annoying. Just wondering if any of you have had to work with people who've had a promotion and prove to be completely inadequate to the job?

It happens in lots of companies, perception is more important than ability a lot of the time. I had a very senior manager tell me the more senior you go in a job the more it's about what people think of you and not what you do. I've found it spot on to be fair

hairyslug · 25-05-2017 2:08pm

Jobs OXO wrote: »

Someone in where ?

In the internet, silly

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 25-05-2017 2:08pm

Jobs OXO wrote: »

Someone in where ?

Where I work.

Kimbot · 25-05-2017 2:08pm

I've worked with numerous of them.

optogirl · 25-05-2017 2:08pm

Alyson Polite Podiatry wrote: »

Someone in here has been promoted beyond their ability. They spend their time trying to foist work on to others, insisting they're too busy to do half the stuff they should be doing, while walking around with a haughty, important air.

They're not fooling anyone, but it's very annoying. Just wondering if any of you have had to work with people who've had a promotion and prove to be completely inadequate to the job?

They are fooling someone. Have the same situation in my workplace - someone waffled their way into a managerial position & then within about a month was off on stress leave. Complete bullshi*ter - everyone who ever worked beside or under him knows this but somehow management fell for his spake.

nelly17 · 25-05-2017 2:12pm

Theres a whole chain of command of them in my place - living in fear of being found out. If only they had the talent to match their ambition.

Teddington Cuddlesworth · 25-05-2017 2:12pm

That's life.
It's not what you can do, but what you can be seen to be doing.

Fratton Fred · 25-05-2017 2:13pm

Teddington Cuddlesworth wrote: »

That's life.
It's not what you can do, but what you can be seen to be doing.

It's not what you know, or even who you know.

It's what you know about who.

That's what gets you promoted

_Brian · 25-05-2017 2:16pm

Alyson Polite Podiatry wrote: »

Someone in here has been promoted beyond their ability. They spend their time trying to foist work on to others, insisting they're too busy to do half the stuff they should be doing, while walking around with a haughty, important air.

They're not fooling anyone, but it's very annoying. Just wondering if any of you have had to work with people who've had a promotion and prove to be completely inadequate to the job?

Delegation is a managers job.
Managers who can't delegate some of their work down onto direct reports will never be successful.
It's how the hyrachy of many companies works.

The manager gets more work completed than he could alone, the subordinates get to demonstrate they are capable of more than their core responsibility and so show they may be suitable for promotion, the company wins as it pushes projects forward.

If your in one of these companies there are two choices, dig in and work the system or stay on the outside and be passed by. Thinking doing your core job is enough to be recognised is not suitable for such companies. I've worked in such places, it's not for everyone and it becomes tiresome, but if job progression is what you want then it can happen quickly.

pickarooney · 25-05-2017 2:16pm

We have a few of them. All the boss' kids work there, one who has no talent, creativity or understanding of hard work and was made a director of something, swans in and out as she sees fit and fobs all her work off on the peons. The other one is hugely overrated by the parents and spends his whole time messing up code without telling anyone and making off the cuff decisions that make no sense.

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 25-05-2017 2:21pm

_Brian wrote: »

Delegation is a managers job.
Managers who can't delegate some of their work down onto direct reports will never be successful.
It's how the hyrachy of many companies works.

The manager gets more work completed than he could alone, the subordinates get to demonstrate they are capable of more than their core responsibility and so show they may be suitable for promotion, the company wins as it pushes projects forward.

If your in one of these companies there are two choices, dig in and work the system or stay on the outside and be passed by. Thinking doing your core job is enough to be recognised is not suitable for such companies. I've worked in such places, it's not for everyone and it becomes tiresome, but if job progression is what you want then it can happen quickly.

They're not delegating to their own staff. They're insisting that various parts of their job are actually the responsibility of 'marketing', or 'finance' or whatever; or go whinging to the Manager who promoted them about being too busy and no one will help them etc.

Summer wind · 25-05-2017 2:39pm

Once worked for a manager who was known on the floor as "What's That" because that was the question she asked everyone when she looked at anything they were working on. She was promoted to manager because she had a claim for personal injury against the company and they offered to promote her to manager if she dropped the claim. So frustrating to have to explain every minor detail of projects to someone who was totally clueless.

Laois_Man · 25-05-2017 2:52pm

I have been with my employer for 8 and a half years and in that time, I have had 8 different managers and I swear at most, 3 of them were competent

2 of them were so incompetent, I complained to HR about them. I think the woman in HR thought I was a moaner although she didn't say it, but both of them have been let go since.

This company is absolutely crawling with wafflers!!

gerrybbadd · 25-05-2017 2:53pm

Jobs OXO wrote: »

Someone in where ?

Here

Unpossible · 25-05-2017 3:49pm

gerrybbadd wrote: »

Here

Ah here

Boom_Bap · 25-05-2017 3:49pm

<<

This guy

fg1406 · 25-05-2017 3:53pm

Hell yes. It seems the ability to talk the talk at an interview gets you places, not the work ethic or your productivity or loyalty to the employer over the past 8 years

Jesus Wept · 26-05-2017 2:20am

nelly17 wrote: »

Theres a whole chain of command of them in my place - living in fear of being found out. If only they had the talent to match their ambition.

What do they do all day?

Fratton Fred wrote: »

It's not what you know, or even who you know.

It's what you know about who.

That's what gets you promoted

Can you explain this?

Persephone kindness · 26-05-2017 4:17am

I have been lucky to work with some really amazing supportive people. I have been lucky I guess and respected them all.

I know that is not the same though in all businesses.

pauliebdub · 27-05-2017 8:07pm

Yes. In fact I'd say I've only ever had one good manager in my career to date and the last one in particular was very poor. An awkward introverted fella, none of us could understand how he got promoted.

pauliebdub · 27-05-2017 8:11pm

Fratton Fred wrote: »

It's not what you know, or even who you know.

It's what you know about who.

That's what gets you promoted

I agree, building relationships with the right people is more important than ability.

DeanAustin · 27-05-2017 8:18pm

Delegation is an important part of a manager's job but you can't just keep delegating particularly if your team is busy already. You have to "do" some of the time and, if nothing else, it gives you a great understanding of what your people have to do.

I find people go one of two ways in management. They either think "Now I'm the boss, people have to do what I say." Or they think "Now I'm the boss, I need to work harder and set the example." Too many people do the former.

Calahonda52 · 27-05-2017 8:19pm

Alyson Polite Podiatry wrote: »

Someone in here has been promoted beyond their ability. They spend their time trying to foist work on to others, insisting they're too busy to do half the stuff they should be doing, while walking around with a haughty, important air.

They're not fooling anyone, but it's very annoying. Just wondering if any of you have had to work with people who've had a promotion and prove to be completely inadequate to the job?

Read Pages 334 to 339. The Canvas Strategy. In Tim Ferriss book Tools of Titans.
Then learn the technique of" crucial conversations" in the book of the same name.
You can only push what is in your wheelbarrow, this issue is not, it's in your head.
Turn up, do the work, go home.

tritium · 27-05-2017 8:51pm

DeanAustin wrote: »

Delegation is an important part of a manager's job but you can't just keep delegating particularly if your team is busy already. You have to "do" some of the time and, if nothing else, it gives you a great understanding of what your people have to do.

I find people go one of two ways in management. They either think "Now I'm the boss, people have to do what I say." Or they think "Now I'm the boss, I need to work harder and set the example." Too many people do the former.

Spot on!

Ive worked with a small number of managers who were hopeleasly out of their depth, including a few who only survived by flogging the life out of great people they had working for them

As or more common though is the phenomena of people bitching about management, telling everyone how they could do better while generally understanding or caring about very little outside their own role. Often these are the first to whinge to their manager about how they deserve a promotion or a great appraisal. All the while being oblivious to how spectacularly **** and/or unreliable they actually are.

Alf Veedersane · 27-05-2017 8:57pm

DeanAustin wrote: »

I find people go one of two ways in management. They either think "Now I'm the boss, people have to do what I say." Or they think "Now I'm the boss, I need to work harder and set the example." Too many people do the former.

As an aside, being boss doesn't necessarily mean having to work harder to set an example. Being an effective boss isn't always about working harder. The role changes the higher up you go.

If a manager passes work off to others because his/her new role involves other work meaning they have to delegate work, that's one thing.

Of course there are plenty of people who pass off work because they think they're above it, they don't need to, etc. They're called w@nkers.

stateofflux · 27-05-2017 9:08pm

I have also found that people promoted to a position they cant do competently will actively create random unnecessary projects (for other people to work on) out of insecurity, to justify their position

DeanAustin · 27-05-2017 9:22pm

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

As an aside, being boss doesn't necessarily mean having to work harder to set an example. Being an effective boss isn't always about working harder. The role changes the higher up you go.

If a manager passes work off to others because his/her new role involves other work meaning they have to delegate work, that's one thing.

Of course there are plenty of people who pass off work because they think they're above it, they don't need to, etc. They're called w@nkers.

I'd disagree on the working harder bit although I know lots of people would hold the same view as you. By the way, by working harder, I don't mean that you just do more of what you were doing when you weren't a manager. If that's all you do, you're not managing.

But in my view, you need to be committed as a manager. You need to think more about work then you did before, you need to think/worry about the people you're managing and you need to always demand more of yourself than you do of your team.

ToddyDoody · 27-05-2017 9:39pm

Eh, that'd be Trump.

People promoted beyond their ability

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