I hired a brilliant executive who fits our Core Values and has the right resume, but they are visibly burning out and falling behind on their Rocks within six months of starting. How do we use conative assessments to find out if the seat itself is structured in a way that fights their natural instincts?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a highly capable executive who matches your Core Values begins to struggle, the problem is rarely a lack of effort or intelligence. It is almost always a mismatch between their natural conative strengths and the daily demands of their seat.

To diagnose this issue, you must use the Kolbe assessments. Have the executive complete the Kolbe A™ Index to identify their natural method of operation. Next, have them complete the Kolbe B™ Index, which measures their own perception of what their job requires of them. Finally, you should complete the Kolbe C™ Index, which defines the manager's actual requirements for the seat.

Compare these three indexes. Often, you will find a massive gap between the person's innate strengths and the expectations of the role. For example, if the seat requires them to build detailed, highly structured processes, which is a high Follow Thru role, but their Kolbe A™ shows they are naturally low in Follow Thru, they are burning a tremendous amount of mental energy just to keep up.

When you force someone to work against their natural conative instincts every day, burnout is inevitable. Once you identify these gaps, you can modify the seat using the Accountability Chart. Delegate the tasks that drain their energy to a team member who possesses those natural strengths, allowing your executive to focus on the areas where they excel.