GoKawiilResearch extends Peter Principle: incompetent managers may rise further, not stall
Political scientists Christian Gläßel and Adam Scharpf argue in their book Making a Career in Dictatorship that people who hit their 'level of incompetence' don't simply stop advancing, as the classic Peter Principle suggests. Instead, facing career pressure and risk of losing their position, these individuals may take on risky or ethically dubious tasks, or undermine superiors through false accusations or leaks, to force further promotion.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
This reframes workplace dysfunction as an active, destabilizing force rather than passive stagnation, suggesting that incompetent managers under threat could become actively harmful to colleagues and institutions rather than merely ineffective. The commentary draws a parallel to David Graeber's 'Bullshit Jobs' theory, implying that some organizational hierarchies may tolerate or even reward such behavior to preserve internal power structures, though this connection is the author's own interpretation rather than part of the original research.
- Gläßel and Scharpf's research suggests incompetent employees can keep climbing by exploiting career pressure rather than stalling out.
- Tactics described include taking on risky or morally contentious tasks and sabotaging superiors to create advancement opportunities.
- The analysis draws a conceptual link to David Graeber's 'Bullshit Jobs' theory about feudal-style management roles.
Source: aworkinglibrary.com — Mandy Brown, 2026-11-08
Published there as: “Petered (what happens after the Peter Principle)”
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