Peter Lawrence had it all wrong. His popular management theory that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their level of incompetence has been debunked, at least for current Canadian public service leadership. The global pandemic has tested leadership skills to the max. A scan of recent leadership polls suggests that ratings are up for political leaders during this time. There is less empirical evidence about how public service officials are seen to be performing. From my perspective, the performance of Canadian public service leadership has been nothing short of exceptional.
Over the past few decades, Government human resource management systems seemed to have successfully landed the right Chief (Public) Officers in the right jobs at the right time. Either that or we just got lucky which is less likely. With such a colossal shift in world order, many public sector leaders have suddenly found them selves in the limelight. Roles which were previously considered support have, almost overnight, become core. And the incumbents were ready. The right people seem to have won the job competitions. The leadership development training seems to have worked.
Peter and Hull’s landmark study which gave birth to the “Peter Principle,” argued that an employee is promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent. They asserted that, in time, every position tends to be occupied by a leader who is incompetent to carry out its duties. That’s not what I see right now. Quite the opposite, our public sector leaders seem to have risen to the level of super hero. Peter Laurence was a Canadian educator who died in 1990 but his theory lives on in infamy. Thankfully, Canadian public service leaders are proving him wrong today.
Jules Fauteux 