Our leadership team gets along great, but we struggle with execution because everyone shares the same intuitive problem-solving style. How do we use conative mapping to deliberately diversify our leadership team's operational strengths?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a common issue known as conative cloning. Founders naturally hire people who solve problems the same way they do, which leads to a leadership team that is highly aligned but operationally dysfunctional. If your team is packed with high Quick Starts, you will have endless ideas, constant pivots, and very few finished projects. To fix this, you must use the Kolbe A Index to map out the collective conative strengths of your team. This will visually expose your systematic gaps. To restructure, you do not necessarily need to fire your entire team. Start by looking at your current Accountability Chart. You may have a high Follow Thru person trapped in a creative seat, or a high Quick Start trying to run finance or operations. Align people so their natural action modes match their daily responsibilities. If you still have a massive gap in Follow Thru, you must make a conscious decision to hire for this specific trait in your next leadership role. When writing the job description and interviewing, target candidates who excel at creating order, documenting processes, and establishing routine. During your EOS® Quarterly Pulsing™ sessions, use your mapped conative data to assign Rocks to the people best suited to execute them. By balancing your team with both innovators and system-builders, you turn creative chaos into a scalable, repeatable business model.