Nine Box

Colleagues,

​Today is the third of four big ideas. On Friday we will put these ideas together.
 
Big idea #3
 
In order to help people grow, we need to develop an accurate picture of their performance and their potential. 
 
Nine-box plots people along two axis, potential and performance. 

High potential/high performing individuals require little feedback and will ask for help when they see a need to improve their performance.
 
Low potential/low performing individual require directive coaching and very specific feedback. They should be under formal review and are candidates for moving out of the organization.
 
The people in the in the left middle and upper boxes are the people most capable of making dramatic improvements to organizational performance. They generally combine the room to grow with the capacity for growth. Focusing efforts on this group will yield the biggest growth.
 
A valuable part of 9-box includes the discussions of leaders in assigning people to different boxes. As leaders have different values, perspectives, and information, making collaborative decisions about which box an individual fits into leads to a better understanding of what constitutes high or low performance or potential. These discussions also contribute to leaders’ abilities to help each of their people to continually improve.
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick