How do you know if an Employee is an A, B or C player

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Everyone wants as many A Players as possible on the team. But what does an A Player actually look like?

To identify if an employee is an A, B or C player, I consider 4 criteria:

What happens when you delegate to them?
What happens when you recruit?
What happens when they need to do something new?
What happens when they are blocked?

Now, to look at A, B, C players based on that criteria:

A Players¶

When you delegate to them, you are confident it will get done
When you recruit, you looks for others that are similar
When they need to do something new, they teach themselves
When they are blocked, they ask for help

B Players¶

When you delegate to them, they get it mostly done, but need guidance
When you recruit, you always look for someone better
When they need to do something new, you have to guide them towards how to learn it
When they are blocked, they waste time trying to figure it out inefficiently, rather than admit they are struggling

C Players¶

When you delegate to them, you are worried it won’t get done well
When you recruit, you purposefully look for someone very different
When they need to do something new, you need to precisely show them exactly how to do it, and it often still gets done wrong
When they are blocked, they rarely ask for help and instead just let the project slip

While there are certainly other criteria a CEO can use, I’ve found this a good start to understand who your A, B and C players are. As you think about how to effectively manage each of these types, consider:

1. Set clear objectives and definitions for success¶

Everyone needs to be aligned on what the objectives are, and how success is being measured. A players will be eager to be a part of the process to define it. For B players, it’s important that they feel bought into the process, even if they may not contribute as much. C players will find excuses why the objectives are unachievable and success unrealistic.

2. Hold everyone accountable for delivering results¶

A very quick way to expose A, B, C players is truly holding everyone accountable for delivering results. Part of why I built Weekly Update (a tool for teams to share status updates each week) is because I saw the value of getting objectives and progress in writing. It is the only way people can be truly held accountable. A players will be eager to participate, highlight their wins and comment on losses. B players will as well, but may be more reserved in how they share. C players will want to avoid this at all costs, because it exposes their failure to deliver.

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