Every four years, the Summer Olympics search for the best athletes in a variety of sports. Over the last sixteen days, I watched in awe as the athletes competed in the Summer Olympics. The endurance of Molly Seidel as she won the bronze in the women’s marathon. The drive of shot putters Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs pushed each other to break world records. The passion of Allyson Felix, who pushed back the naysayers to win another Olympic Gold Medal. And, of course, Simon Biles who redefined what a champion is.
Everyone who had a chance to compete for their home country for Olympic glory should be proud. The knowledge, the ability, the dedication, and the mental toughness to be able to perform at such a high level is impressive.
Yet, could they perform at the same high level in a different sport? Could you imagine marathon runner Molly Seidel competing against Ryan Crouser in the shot put? Or vice versa?
One of my favorite quotes from Jim Collins’ Good to Great is, “If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great.”
Today, I want to focus on the second part, “the right people in the right seats.” In too many organizations, I find talented people disengaged because they aren’t in the right seat. In some cases, they don’t have the necessary skill set to perform the job well. In other cases, they can perform the job well but just don’t have a passion for it. According to Gallup, one of the biggest challenges facing organizations is disengaged, employees. Nearly 2/3 of co-workers are disconnected from the organization’s missions.
As a manager, we are responsible for ensuring our staff is in the right job and have the necessary knowledge, skill set, and systems to succeed. When you are evaluating your employees, ask yourself, “Are they in the right job for the strengths they bring to the organization?” If not, can you redesign the position or move them to a more suitable role.
In a coaching session this week, I had a manager who has an employee who performed well at specific tasks but not at others. In our discussions, we discussed the best actions for the manager to do to make the employee successful within the company.
What would you do?
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