Managing Talent With the Nine-Box Grid

Welcome to Mind Tools' video learning series.

Is your team full of star performers who are capable but under-challenged? Or have you got people who are underperforming and require further training and development?

As a manager, it's important that you know how to assess your people's talents, so you can provide them with the support they need to do their best work.

One way to do this is to use the Nine-Box Grid for Talent Management – a simple framework that measures peoples' talent based on their potential and performance.

First, score each team member based on their performance. Ask yourself whether their performance exceeds, meets or falls below your expectations.

Next, score them on potential. Ask yourself: could they learn new skills? Could they lead their own team? Are they flexible?

Then, note down whether you think their potential is High, Moderate or Limited.

Finally, combine their scores to match them to the most appropriate box on the grid. Once you've done this, it will be much easier to identify their specific training needs.

If you identify a Star Performer on your team, give them plenty of responsibility. Try pushing them beyond their comfort zone by allowing them to work on high profile projects.

Treat Rising Stars the same way, but offer plenty of feedback to help boost their performance.

Potential Stars could go far, but they'll need to work on improving their performance. So, find out what's holding them back and work to remove these obstacles.

Key Contributors are likely to be your future Star Performers. But to help them get there, you'll need to focus on their longer-term development and provide training at a slower pace.

Core Team Members may be happy to stay right where they are, so don't pressure them to advance if they don't want to. But do provide opportunities for development.

Like Potential Stars, Underperformers need to improve their performance. So, monitor their work closely, provide them with regular feedback, and reward them when they do well.

Trusted Team Members perform highly but have limited potential, so keep them motivated by finding out what they'd like to do in the future. And don't forget to reward them for their good work.

People in this group also make excellent role models, so you could consider asking them to mentor and train others as well.

Develop Adequate Performers as you would Core Team Members. Provide regular, detailed feedback about their work to help them improve.

If you have a Problem Team Member focus on improving their performance, rather than their development. And make sure they aren't blocking or negatively impacting anyone else on your team.

To learn more about The Nine-Box Grid for Talent Management, see the article that accompanies this video.