Stuck between mediocrity and excellence

"When tha sh*t goes down ya better be ready (When tha sh*t goes down)... -  Cypress Hill, When the Sh*t Goes Down Are you prepared to be successful at the next level?  If you are a consultant, have you done the right thing by working yourself out of multiple jobs while moving up the consulting hierarchy? If you are in management, have you improved and grown out of your position allowing for younger managers to come and fill in? If you are an executive, are you thinking about who will succeed you? The bottom line is that you need to be prepared to have someone competent and capable at the next level when you are about to move on. (See The Peter Principle for the antithesis of that statement.) Unfortunately, that preparation rarely happens.  It's like saying every pro basketball player would make a great head coach, general manager, or commentator.  We all know that this is not the case.  So make sure your plan to move to the next level includ...

Which is more important when it comes to climbing the career ladder?  Loyalty or capability?  The idealist in us would say that it's up to our company's management and leaders to recognize potential and capability and promote accordingly.  The Peter Principle states otherwise.  Look around you. More than likely, your peers are like you.  Look above you. More than likely, your leaders are not like you.  Therefore it's your job to try and be more like your managers and leaders and less like you if the gap is as wide as you perceive it to be.  The dilemma arises when becoming more like "them" distances you from your true self.   So do you continue the cycle when you get promoted and pick loyalty over capability?  Or do you break the cycle because it's the right thing to do?  Choose the latter. You and your company will be better off for it.