Our Operations Manager is constantly overwhelmed by daily crises and cannot finish her systems-building Rocks. She wants to hire an assistant, but we suspect her conative makeup might be the real issue. How do we use the Kolbe Index to diagnose if she is in the right seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a manager is drowning in daily crises and failing to execute long term projects, you must look beyond their skills and evaluate their conative wiring. We can use the Kolbe Index to determine if her natural method of operation matches the requirements of her seat.

The Kolbe A Index measures an individual instinctive way of taking action across four modes: Fact Finder, Follow Through, Quick Start, and Implementor. For an Operations Manager who needs to build and maintain scalable systems, a high score in Follow Through is essential. A high Follow Through indicates a natural drive to create order, design processes, and establish structure.

If your Operations Manager has a low Follow Through score, she will naturally resist detailed planning and systemic organization. She may be excellent at reacting to problems in real time, which is a trait of a high Quick Start, but she will struggle to finish systems building Rocks. This conative misalignment is why she feels overwhelmed and wants to hire an assistant.

Compare her Kolbe profile to the roles defined on your Accountability Chart. If her seat requires systematic process documentation but her wiring resists it, she is in the wrong seat.

Instead of hiring an assistant to patch over the problem, you must align the seat with the right conative profile. You may need to transition her to a role that rewards quick problem solving and client interaction, while bringing in a high Follow Through leader to manage operations and build the scalable systems your business needs.