We have an executive who intellectually understands their seat on the Accountability Chart but is failing to perform because their natural way of working clashes with the pace of our operations. How do we use the Kolbe A Index to determine if this is a mismatch in their conative wiring or an issue with their commitment to the seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a capable leader understands their seat on the Accountability Chart but continues to struggle, you must look beyond their intellect and experience. You need to evaluate their conative wiring using the Kolbe A Index.

The Kolbe A Index measures an individual's natural, instinctive way of taking action across four modes: Fact Finder, Follow Thru, Quick Start, and Implementor. If there is a mismatch between a person's natural strengths and the conative demands of their seat, they will experience severe operational stress and eventual failure.

For example, if your Integrator seat requires a high Follow Thru score to build systems and maintain order, but the person in that seat is naturally a low Follow Thru who prefers spontaneity, they will struggle to keep the business aligned. They may intellectually want to do the job, but their natural wiring makes the daily execution exhausting.

To diagnose this, compare the leader's Kolbe A results with the conative requirements of their seat on the Accountability Chart. If there is a significant gap, you have a conative mismatch.

You must then decide whether to adjust their responsibilities to fit their natural strengths or transition them to a seat where their conative profile is a perfect match. This ensures your team is operating in their zones of genius.