Managers sabotage talented subordinates to protect their own status and job security, especially when relative performance evaluations give them discretion.
- Top-down sabotage is common, with 71% of executives witnessing it and 5% admitting to sabotaging direct reports.
- Managers sabotage subordinates primarily due to status concerns, not just financial incentives.
- Relative performance evaluations (RPEs) increase sabotage, especially when managerial discretion is high.
- Succession planning is jeopardized by top-down sabotage, as talented employees may leave or be stifled.
- Fostering a collaborative culture with transparent evaluations and team-based incentives reduces sabotage.
The Phenomenon of Top-Down Sabotage
Research by Harvard scholars finds that managers often undermine talented subordinates to prevent future competition and enhance personal job security. This top-down sabotage is surprisingly common: 71% of surveyed executives witnessed it in their careers, and 5% admitted to doing it themselves.
The primary driver is fear of losing status and power, not money. Only 3% of respondents said money alone motivated sabotage, while 21% cited status alone and 24% cited both.
How Performance Evaluations Fuel Sabotage
Relative performance evaluations (RPEs), which compare employees against each other, are associated with slightly higher sabotage rates: 38% vs. 33% in non-RPE organizations. However, the key factor is managerial discretion: when managers have subjective influence over RPE, sabotage rises to 47%; without discretion, it drops to 27%.
Experiments confirm that when pay depends on relative performance, people avoid partnering with talented individuals and may even steal their work to avoid competition.
Preventing Sabotage Through Culture and Systems
Organizations with a strong collaborative culture—characterized by open communication, transparency, and a sense of belonging—experience substantially less top-down sabotage. 360-degree feedback systems only help if enforced properly; otherwise they can exacerbate the problem.
Recommendations include increasing transparency in performance evaluations, limiting managerial discretion, incentivizing team success, and fostering trust. Ultimately, improving organizational culture is the most effective tool to fix succession planning and reduce sabotage.
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