Our Customer Success Manager was a rockstar when we had fifty clients, but now that we have five hundred, her seat has become highly operational and she is drowning. How do we use the Kolbe A Index to diagnose if she can scale?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a business scales, seats on the Accountability Chart often change character. What was once a high relationship, highly creative role can quickly become a high volume, systematic, and operational role. This is why a leader who excelled early on can suddenly hit their ceiling and start drowning.

To diagnose the issue, look at her Kolbe A Index in comparison to the requirements of the scaling seat. Early on, managing fifty clients required high adaptability and quick, customized problem-solving, which is typical of a high Quick Start and low Follow Thru profile.

Now, managing five hundred clients requires building scalable ticketing systems, writing standard operating procedures, and managing a team to follow a strict process. This requires a high Follow Thru profile. If her Kolbe profile shows a low Follow Thru score, she is working against her natural conative strengths every day. This conative strain is why she is drowning, not a lack of effort or intelligence.

Use this insight to have a honest, vulnerable conversation with her. Discuss whether she wants and has the capacity to run a highly systematic department, or if she would prefer a seat focused on key account management or client relationships where she can use her natural strengths. Adjusting her seat to match her conative profile will save her from burnout and protect your clients.