How the Best Leaders Master Getting the Right People in the Right Roles

In business, pivotal people shape success.

This means the right people in the right roles can elevate a team to new heights.  Conversely, the wrong people in the wrong roles can limit a team's success. As a leader, your task isn’t just oversight—it’s constantly evaluating what percentage of your essential roles are filled by the right people. Said differently, 

Having the right people in essential roles makes the difference between thriving and surviving.

Unfortunately, most managers underestimate the importance and frequency of evaluating the talent on their team.  

This was expressed so clearly to me working with a group of 14 senior managers in a large finance department.  They were struggling with accountability and performance. So, their HR Executive opted for the Accelerate Leadership Program to elevate their skills.   Many of them bought into the ideas and tools to help them lead their team more effectively. But when we got to the talent portion of the program, I asked a simple question, "What percentage of employees you lead are the right people in the right seats?"  The quick answer and average was 50%.  

A surprisingly low number of leaders whose primary responsibility and how they are compensated is based on the performance of their teams.  It taught me an important lesson.  Every leader cares about the talent on their team, few do the hard work to fix it. 

Every leader cares about the talent on their team, few do the hard work to fix it.

It is easier to complain about and do the work for someone who isn't right than to make personal changes proactively. 

Identifying Essential Roles: People Shape Success

Every team member is important and has a role to play.  However, some roles are more vital to a team's overall success than others. What I call Essential Roles (creative, I know.)

To use a sports example for Essential Roles, let's go to the National Football League. An effective punter is essential, but not nearly as essential as an effective quarterback. To take it a step further, the average salary for a top-tier QB is $40M a year, while the average salary for a top-tier punter is $1.5M a year. Clearly, NFL General Managers understand the concept of Essential Roles. 

Since there is a good chance you aren't a GM of an NFL team, let's simplify what qualifies as an Essential Role for a leader in most companies. There could be additional qualifications specific to you or your organization, but there are two simple examples: 

• Team members who can make personal decisions:  Someone who can hire, fire, or promote.
• Team members who can have a significant impact financially: Someone whose actions can expose  

Assessing Talent in Essential Roles 

There are all kinds of strategies in assessing talent in key roles.  On the complex side there are comprehensive assessments and competency audits. On the simple side, there are self-evaluation tools. 

Here is a free download of the Talent Evaluation Matrix Tool.

Whatever method you believe in and use, it should include some evaluation of the current will, skill, values, and habits of team members in essential roles.  This will help identify gaps to determine what training is required or if a replacement is necessary to meet goals and objectives. 

7 Questions to Assess Underperforming Team Members

If you're like many of the leaders I work with, you likely have one or two people in mind who you're unsure about in their essential role. To help you evaluate whether they are the right fit, here are five key questions to ask yourself

1. Are other team members underperforming or leaving because of them? 

2. Do they use blaming, complaining, defending, or making excuses (BCDE) as their first reaction to adversity? 

3. Do they view their job as just a paycheck, or do they see a deeper purpose in their work? 

4. Has your confidence in this person increased or decreased over the past year? 

5. Could this person be the right fit, just in the wrong role? 

6. How would you feel if this person walked into your office and told you they were leaving? 

Closing

Remember, no one is perfect, and you're looking for progress, not perfection. By evaluating your team members against these six questions, you can clarify whether you have the right people in your essential roles and make the necessary adjustments to set your team up for long-term success.

Talent Evaluation Matrix Tool Looking for a proven tool to evaluate the talent on your team? Download the free Talent Evaluation Matrix Tool

Accelerate Leadership: Want to improve the performance of your team in 2025? Want to go from a manager to a high-performing leader? Sign up for the Accelerate Leadership Program. Only a few spots remain, virtual workshops begin on December 9th.

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About the Author: John Eades is the CEO of LearnLoft. He was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices. John is also the author of Building the Best: 8 Proven Leadership Principles to Elevate Others to Success. You can follow him on Instagram @johngeades.