We hired an experienced customer success manager who is hitting their operational metrics, but our Predictive Index assessment shows they have an aggressive, dominant behavioral profile. Our clients are complaining that they feel rushed and unvalued. How do we address this?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic Right Person, Right Seat issue where the employee has the cognitive ability and operational skills to do the work, but their natural behavioral wiring is a poor fit for the role. First, analyze the behavioral target you established for the Customer Success seat. A successful customer-facing seat typically requires high empathy, strong listening skills, and a collaborative approach. A candidate with a highly dominant and driving behavioral profile naturally focuses on speed, efficiency, and task completion, which can easily come across as blunt or dismissive to clients. Second, have an honest, data-backed conversation with the seat holder. Use the Predictive Index results to show them the gap between their natural behavioral drives and the behavioral requirements of the seat. Explain that while you appreciate their efficiency and metric delivery, their style is negatively impacting client satisfaction. Third, determine if they can adapt. While behavioral wiring is relatively stable, individuals can stretch their behaviors for short periods if they are self-aware and motivated. Set clear, behavioral key performance indicators alongside their operational metrics, such as client satisfaction scores or net promoter scores. If they cannot or will not adjust their approach, you must move them out of the client-facing seat. Their drive and focus on metrics might make them an excellent fit for an inside sales seat, a project management seat, or an operational efficiency role on your Accountability Chart. Do not compromise on your client experience to keep a highly efficient but behaviorally mismatched employee in a critical client-facing seat.