This past week, there was an opinion piece about US Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. It was an extremely biting piece about his leadership style. I don’t know much about him and have no idea how true that opinion piece may be. It is an opinion piece so I suppose “how true” it is may be a wrong question to ask. I don’t dive into politics publicly as I strive to work with all sides.

The opinion piece, however, did get me thinking about leadership styles and management. I often think about that. It’s what I do. In the past I’ve helped organizations across the country develop organizational leadership. I have talked quite often about the Peter Principle where essentially someone is promoted to the point of their incompetence. It happens quite often. And, sometimes you can feel sorry for said individual and other times not so much because of hubris and lack of humility.

Sometimes people really just want the promotion because they just want the title and supposed corresponding power. Yet, they may not care for the actual work. Of course, there are a number of reasons to want a promotion with increased salary being a primary reason for many. I think we can all understand that motivation.

However, if more salary or power are the driving force behind wanting a promotion you may be setting yourself up for failure. You may be promoting yourself into incompetence. I am not saying that is the motivation behind the campaigns of presidential candidates. But the opinion piece got me thinking about this at the ground and every day life level. We need to be honest with ourselves, as best we can, when thinking we want something more.