Our Integrator is struggling in her seat because she is constantly pulled into manual software configurations and database management, which is slowing down our leadership team. How do we use conative screening and the Kolbe Index to determine if she has the right natural instincts for this seat?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When an Integrator is bogged down in technical configurations and database management, it is a classic sign of seat mismatch. The Integrator seat on your Accountability Chart is designed for leading, managing, holding people accountable, and executing the business plan. It is not an IT or database administration seat.

To resolve this, you need to look at both the structural definition of the seat and your Integrator's conative profile. Administer the Kolbe A Index to understand her natural method of operation.

If she has a very high Follow Thru score, she instinctively seeks order, structure, and system building. While this is highly valuable for an Integrator, she might be over-indexing on the details and trying to build the database systems herself instead of managing the people who do. Alternatively, she may lack the cognitive energy for the strategic leadership tasks because the technical work is completely draining her.

Use Keith Cunningham's Thinking Time framework to address this structural issue. Ask yourself: how might we offload the technical database tasks so our Integrator can focus entirely on driving operational accountability?

The solution is usually to pull those technical responsibilities out of the Integrator seat and create a dedicated IT or Operations Specialist seat on the Accountability Chart. By assigning those tasks to a specialist, you free up your Integrator to run the business.