Performance-culture matrix
Nothing damages a team’s morale more than management tolerating team members who deliver results but exhibit behaviour that is not aligned with the company’s culture. I made that mistake before. I once kept a difficult but high-performing senior sales personnel because he was bringing in the dollars, but over time he caused so much stress to his co-workers they started making mistakes and eventually many of them left because of him. Eventually I released him, but the damage had been done.
So when I came across this simple, yet powerful diagnostic tool introduced by the inspiring George Gan (it’s developed by former General Electric Chairman and CEO Jack Welch), I had to share it here!
In essence, the Performance-Values matrix or The Performance-Culture matrix determines the suitability of a team member in the company. It allows the leadership team to quickly identify which of their team members need care and attention, up-skilling, alignment, or in some instances, to be managed out.
A Players (top right)
An A Player is a great culture fit and great performer. A world-class company would have 75% of their people in this quadrant. The biggest danger is that most leaders will spend the majority of their time helping B- and C players rather than nurturing and retaining their people in this quadrant, thinking that they’ve ‘got it’.
Action required: Cherish them.
B Players (top left)
A B Player is a great culture fit but has got some skills to develop. Don’t worry, this is still a good spot to be in. Help them close their skills gap through training, mentoring and exposure, so they can eventually move up to the A players quadrant.
Action required: Upskill them.
B- Players (bottom right)
This quadrant is the trickiest because they are very good at their job, but just don’t quite click with the company culture. We tend to accommodate, adapt, and hope that this person will one day just somehow click. This can damage the company in the long-run.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution but I find that the most suitable approach is to coach them. Leaders need to face them head on with difficult conversations to find out their motivations. They can end up moving to any of the quadrants or decide to quit immediately.
Action required: Coach them.
C Players (bottom left)
C Players, lacking in both performance and culture fit, should be swiftly released to go find other opportunities elsewhere. This may sound mean, but look at it this way: a C Player in your company could end up being an A Player in another company. This person would most likely be miserable in your team anyway, so it’s best to liberate them.
Action required: Release them.
As leaders, it’s our job to put our team members into positions where they can be successful, and then continually assess their performances and behaviour against the company’s aspirations and develop ways to close any gaps. ●