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In addressing the war for talent, there has been much emphasis in the business press on hiring and retaining star performers. This fascination can lure us into the dangerous trap of underestimating the importance of our supporting actors. When considering your talent management strategy and practices, you must give consideration to this vital group as they have considerable influence on your organization’s long-term performance – even survival.
Holistic Approach to Talent Management
Unquestionably, A players can make enormous contributions to corporate performance. In the last few years, star performers have received much attention. They have been hailed as role models and their abilities regarded as exemplary. Their strengths have been examined and competencies designed for others to aspire to and emulate. If only we could clone more A players. Right? Well, DeLong and Vijayaraghavan[1] caution the business world: underestimate the importance of your B players at your own peril. Here’s why.
A-players only account for about 10% of your people. Furthermore, A players are often less tied to their employers. Their ambition, at the extreme, can mean they think more about what’s good for ‘Brand Me’ than about what’s good for the organization.
B players, on the other hand, probably account for 80% of your people. They are your capable, steady, committed performers. Essentially, they are the best supporting actors of the business world. B players generally share the following characteristics:
B Players:
- are not necessarily less intelligent than A players. Achievement is a complicated blend of intelligence, motivation and personality and B players score highly on the other two components.
- have an aversion to calling attention to themselves. They are least likely to make demands on their manager’s time. Such reserve is alien to most stars, who make sure they get the attention they want.
- place a high premium on work–life balance. They strive for advancement but not at all costs.
- are able to adapt, having observed, experienced and survived many organizational changes
- avoid organizational politics and in-fighting, and quietly get on with their work
B Player Types
Recovered A Players
They are skilled, highly-focused professionals who have rejected the pressures of an A life and have made a conscious decision to drop off the fast track and scale back their ambitions, perhaps to spend more time with their young families. They have a depth of knowledge and wisdom, can step up a gear in times of crisis and bring more to their job when times require it. The organization is richer because of them.
Truth Tellers
Recognizable for their honesty, they will not hold back when expressing their opinion, or challenging actions or behaviors they believe to be flawed. Typically, they are more interested in their work than their careers, which means they have the confidence to ask searching and sometimes challenging questions of themselves and others. Their courage can be an asset to the organization.
Go-to People
Although they may not have an A mind, they more than make up for that by their extraordinary feel for the organization’s processes and norms. Their ability to network effectively, combined with their political know-how, makes them a highly effective ‘power-broker’. Others look to them for advice in terms of who to approach and how to navigate organizational politics.
Middling
DeLong and Vijayaraghavan characterize the remaining B players as middling. In general, they are less competent than the other B players, they generally steer clear of risk and aren’t entrepreneurial. However, they do care deeply, take their responsibility seriously and are motivated by the service they can deliver for the organization. They would always put their organization’s well-being before their own career. They therefore come closest to being your organization’s apostles.
B Player Value
B players counterbalance the ambitions of your stars and can bring depth and stability to your organization. In times of organizational crisis, they can bring a long-term perspective, remembering when things were as bad on previous occasions as they are now and how the organization survived. When things get tough, their confidence, optimism and wisdom, and their stories of survival, can bring reassurance to colleagues. They can therefore make ideal mentors for younger or less experienced managers during such times. They will also be first to get back to business as usual as they are adaptable and less threatened by change. This stability can improve both corporate performance and organizational resilience.
B players inevitably end up being the backbone of the organization. And yet, many B players leave their organization because they are so flagrantly disregarded.
Managing B Players
No matter how secure and well-grounded, B players need two things: encouragement, or they will begin to see themselves as C players; and recognition, or they will begin to feel that they are being taken for granted. If they experience either of these, they may become disengaged and start to look for opportunities else-where. Losing a solid B performer in this way is a failure for any organization.
DeLong and Vijayaraghavan suggest four ways leaders can better manage their B players:
Accept the Differences
B players are often overlooked for promotion and development opportunities for two main reasons:
- Psychological studies confirm that we are tougher on people who differ from us than on those with whom we identify. Since most leaders are themselves highly motivated A players, they tend to undervalue B players who frequently have a different perspective on life.
- B players are not aggressive like many of their A player colleagues and so will not push themselves in a similarly uncompromising fashion.
Such a flagrant disregard of their strengths can leave them feeling taken for granted, even shunned.
When considering employee movement, explore individuals’ personal values and career aspirations, and consider if you can accept them on their own terms. It might also help to suggest a mentor better suited to understand and progress their career aspirations.
Give Them Time
Line managers should review their own communication patterns. It is quite likely that they will spend a disproportionate amount of time with their star performers and no time at all with a significant percentage of their B players. This neglect can lead to feelings of alienation and frustration. Line managers should schedule regular meetings with all their direct reports, mentoring and nurturing B players to ensure their continued participation and enthusiasm.
Reward Them in Various Ways
B players are typically promoted less frequently than A players. They still need to feel appreciated and that they are rewarded fairly. Genuine gestures of appreciation and recognition will go a long way. For instance, handwritten notes can mean a lot and are often kept for a long time.
Offer Choices
When considering how to retain B players with the greatest potential, who don’t necessarily want to climb the corporate ladder, organizations should adopt systems such as sideways moves, and allocate resources such as compenstation, coaching and promotions. These offer genuine career alternatives, and will help to retain key players.
Summary
Organizations are routinely blinded to the important role B players serve in improving corporate performance and organization resilience. Ensure your talent management strategy does not neglect this essential group that forms the backbone of your organization. Nurture your B players so that you maximize their particular brand of talent. Your organization will profit as a result.
References[1] We review the work of Thomas DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan. In their article, ‘Let’s Hear It For B Players’, Harvard Business Review (June 2003), pp 96–102, they define four types of B players and identify four ways leaders can better manage them.
