Our customer service director has been with us for a decade, is a perfect core values fit, and truly wants to succeed, but she is struggling to learn our new AI-driven analytics dashboards. How do we distinguish between a temporary learning curve and a permanent lack of capacity in our GWC evaluation?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Distinguishing between a temporary learning curve and a permanent capacity gap is critical for a healthy team. In our GWC™ framework, Capacity includes the mental, physical, emotional, and time resources required to excel in a seat. When an executive struggles with new tools like AI-driven analytics, you must investigate the root cause. First, ensure you have provided adequate training and resources to help them succeed. Next, evaluate their progress over a defined period, such as thirty to sixty days. If they are putting in the effort but still cannot grasp the technology, make decisions based on data, not sentiment. A permanent lack of capacity means they simply do not have the cognitive or technical capability to perform the modern roles of that seat at your current scale. You must address this issue using IDS®. Because she is a great core values fit, you should look for another seat in the organization where she can thrive and where her skills match the required roles. If no such seat exists, you must make the hard choice to transition her out of the company to preserve your operational standards.