Topgrading

In our roles as Topgrading consultants, one of the most important things we help clients do is to figure out what “A player” means for their organizations.  Describing exactly what one is looking for is necessary so you realize when you’ve found an A player. 

 

We’ve also found that it is one of the areas clients have the most difficulty with.  We strongly advocate describing exactly what will be expected of a high performer in a given position (Accountabilities) and how you expect those results to be delivered given your organization’s culture (Competencies).  However, after doing tens of thousands of assessments of executives, mid-level managers, and first-time supervisors, we have found that A player management candidates tend to consistently exhibit several characteristics.  They are:

 

•         Smart (raw intellect and business savvy)

•         Driven to succeed

•         Trustworthy

•         Passionate

•         Consistent high performers

•         Able to adjust to many different personalities

•         Surrounded by High Performers (Topgraders!)

•         Very hard workers

•         Resourceful, overcome obstacles

•         Effective leaders, inspiring commitment to a clear vision

•         Tough minded, hold people accountable

•         Down-to-earth and well-grounded, self-aware, humble

 

Use this list of characteristics as a “rule of thumb” when creating scorecards and analyzing the data during each step of your assessment process.  If a candidate is weak in even one of these areas, consider it a major “red flag” and question whether that person is really an A player candidate.

 

One point to note is that these characteristics are all relevant.  For example, you would not necessarily expect a candidate for Accounting Manager to have as much business savvy as candidate for General Manager.  However, you should expect that Accounting Manager candidate to have enough business savvy to connect his or her activity to the overall business goals.