The Peter Principle, made famous by Laurence Johnston Peter states that within a given organization people will rise to their highest level of competence, and then be given higher positions where they are incompetent.

Could it be that a primary reason for this is that such people do not possess sufficient TRP^® qualities?

Let’s examine. In the June 16, 2002 issue of Parade Magazine, Daniel Goleman, chief spokesperson for the Emotional Intelligence movement, discusses what qualities are important to effective leaders. It reads like he is writing about TRP^®!

In discussing the essentials of leadership he states that his and others’ research reveals that “…what sets the beloved leaders apart from the bosses we hate is excellence at things like handling upsets, listening and empathy…an adeptness at managing ourselves and our interactions with others—not school smarts. This may explain why people who were only average in school can blossom as leaders in later life.”

He gave the example of a brilliant biochemist in a pharmaceutical company who was a great researcher. He was then appointed head of a research team where he failed miserably. Some of the traits that resulted in his success as a researcher failed him as a leader. As a researcher he held himself up to extremely high standards which he now applied to everyone on his team. “Lavish in his criticisms [a victim stance], he never praised people when they did well [a TRP^® practice]. Ever impatient [another victim habit] he took over for people at the first sign of a lapse [victims are rescuers thus not allowing others to learn and grow from their mistakes]. The result? Within months, his team was dispirited, demoralized, and failing.”

It doesn’t have to be this way.