4 workers you’ll find in every team
Potential and Kinetic. Two axes of team performance.
We spend a considerable portion of our personal and professional lives working in teams. We may lead some teams.
Team leaders assess their team members from various viewpoints. From my experience, the two most frequent criteria are capability and performance. Think of it as the potential and kinetic energies of team members, which collectively determine the momentum of the team.
Over the years, I’ve developed a heuristic for this, which I plot on a quadrant. I share it here.
Potential & Kinetic Energy
Capability and Performance. Potential and Kinetic energy. They map nicely to each other. But they are fairly big words. I prefer the much simpler version: Can and Want.
- Can [someone] do [something]?
- Do [they] Want to do [something]
I use the term can to assess whether or not someone has the skills to do something competently.
I use the term want to assess whether or not someone has motivation to do something. Motivation here spans the spectrum. At one end its sheer enthusiasm to do everything that’s assigned — plus more. On the other end it could be a refusal, being slack or, robotically doing bare minimum.
When we plot these terms on axes, a quadrant emerges. In the following sections, I describe each box, and outline key implications for managers.
CAN do + WANTS to do
Let’s start with the best-case scenario. These are people who are capable of doing something, and eager/motivated to do it. These are true stars of the team, that every manager must treasure. They make the team tick.
While managers must appreciate such team members, it is also possible to have too much of a good thing! Sometimes their energy can be hard to control. They may get frustrated if they feel a team is going to “slow” or not showing enough “ambition”. Having said that, in the scheme of things, it’s probably the best type of trouble a manager can have.
CAN’T do + does not WANT to do
Let’s now jump to the worst-case scenario. These are people who lack the ability and also the motivation to do something. It’s a terrible state — for everyone involved.
While getting rid is the best way to deal with people in this quadrant, there can be some nuance, depending on the type of work a team does. If the work is largely homogenous, moving them on is best. If the team’s work is varied, there could be another opportunity that could present a lifeline.
CAN’T do <but> WANTS to do
In a team, there could be people who don’t have the full ability do so something — but have lots of motivation. They represent a conundrum for the manager. Most managers resolve these “question-marks” with a textbook approach. They reason that enthusiasm and motivation are innate qualities that must be treasured. Skills can be taught. Team members in this box are often nurtured so they can uplift their skills. The upshot is two-fold: happy team member and increased capacity for the team.
Managers need to study the situation astutely before making a decision. In some operating environments, people need to hit the ground running. Nurturing isn't an option. If someone is nurtured, that also needs to be planned carefully, taking into consideration the ramp-up plan, impact on team members and overall team performance.
CAN do <but> does not WANT to do
This is the trickiest box of the quadrant. These are people who have the capability to do something but not the motivation. Very frustrating for everyone involved.
This box represents a real or perceived mis-alignment between a person and work, or between the person and the team e.g., team dynamics, nature of work, fairness, opportunity etc. Softer issues mostly.
If you find people in this box, first look at team dynamics. If fixing these increases their motivation, that’s a win-win outcome. People in this box are obviously capable. There’s huge benefit in uplifting their motivation. If that’s not possible, then it’s better to part company, rather than for both sides, to keep pushing a barrel uphill.
Using the quadrant above, managers can assess their team from a performance. They can get a sense of the energy of the team.
Just a caveat. Can and Want are subjective assessments. Assessments can be wrong. They can also change over time. Be mindful of that, and continually recalibrate every assessment of capability and motivation.
Good team dynamics are the biggest determinant of success. We’ve seen many times how teams with better cohesion, creativity and desire outshine teams with greater resources and individual quality.
The first step towards good team dynamics is to understand your team better. Understand the forces or energies that drive, or slow down, the team. The above is a simple framework I use to make that assessment.
