Like a sports team, an organization is only as good as its weakest link. Winning depends on finding the talent that fits the team.
Organizations need to connect what success looks like from the point of view of the CEO and board of directors to what success looks like at every level, in every job. They need to thoroughly assess what each job must do for the company to succeed and ask whether the people in each position can deliver.
If this isn’t done for every position, then the level of success defaults to the weakest link. And, like a sports team, a business will be left behind the competition.
CEOs often are not prepared to get rid of the people who don’t fit and don’t buy into the requirements for success because they fear they won’t be able to find enough of the right people. But, there is no lack of talent out there. The problem stems from not properly defining what fit means and from not knowing what to look for.
Some companies get it right: for example, General Electric under Jack Welch’s leadership; and Isadore Sharp’s Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, where retention averages 15 years for employees and 22 years for management.
But the majority of organizations have a lot of work to do. Most are filled with capable people with plenty of talent, but many are placed in the wrong jobs. Sustained success is not possible for a company with too many bad fits.
Putting people in the right positions is an ongoing process. Companies won’t necessarily reach perfection, but it’s important to try.
Who Is Needed?
The first question for management relates to the job, not the person. Before asking questions about any particular person in any particular job, or a new person being recruited, decide what success looks like in the position given the goals of the CEO, board and senior leadership.
This isn’t a standard job description, but rather a description of success. It’s not primarily about what a person will do (e.g., lead or be responsible for), but what the outcomes must be (e.g., $1 million in sales or 10 percent growth).
Consider what skills and personality type the person must have to generate the outcomes for a particular job. This is part of a broader examination of growth strategy and human capital and how a person meshes in a corporation.
After management defines what success looks like in different positions, it should examine the profiles of the people in those positions—evaluating them on the basis of skills, characteristics and experience.
These profiles must be done independently of the people who currently fill the positions. Knowledge of and feelings for an incumbent can create an inherent bias. Jobs too often get defined according to the incumbent’s skills and personality rather than as a result of objective analysis.
Who Is Ideal?
Step back and ask the critical questions: What does the ideal person look like in this job? What would they need to be good at? What skills and traits would they have? What type of people would they need to work well with?
It might not be possible to find the ideal fit, but knowing what’s needed for success will help determine what the organization can do to supplement and support the person who is the best available fit.
Frequently, people are moved up to fill positions with little or no evaluation of their fit. Although they may have been good in the previous job, success in one position doesn’t automatically mean success in the next position.
Managers must be prepared to put fit before almost anything else. If they don’t, the organization faces underperformance.
Start with a clear description of success for the position and then create the ideal description of the person who can meet the requirements for success. That defines the best fit.