CEO Pain Point Solution Series: Finding the Right Roles for the Right People
Misalignment doesn’t just harm productivity. It drains your best talent.
So far in this series, we’ve tackled two common challenges: time scarcity at the leadership level and employee burnout across the organization.
Now we turn to a third issue that can be harder to spot, but equally problematic. We are talking about the fact that your people - even your best people - may be in the wrong roles.
Sometimes it’s a mismatch of skills. Other times, it’s a misalignment of energy, team, or timing. But make no mistake: role misalignment is one of the fastest ways to hurt your culture, stall innovation, and lose your best performers.
The Problem: Wrong Seats, Wrong Outcomes
We’ve all seen it.
A brilliant individual contributor is promoted into people management - and struggles.
A seasoned operator is placed in a strategy role they didn’t ask for - and resents it.
A promising new hire is left doing monotonous work - and becomes disengaged.
These aren’t necessarily talent issues. They’re placement issues.
Here’s what makes it worse: The longer the mismatch goes unchecked, the more damage it does. Performance drops. Confidence erodes. And both the employee and the organization lose momentum.
If you’re seeing sluggish execution, internal friction, or unexpected turnover, the root cause may not be culture. It may be misplaced people doing misaligned work.
The Solution: Reevaluate and Align Roles Based on Strength and Energy
The best CEOs I work with regularly evaluate their employees' roles and responsibilities.
They constantly ask:
Is this person doing the work they were built for?
Do they feel challenged, trusted, and valued in this seat?
Are we rewarding performance or simply tenure?
One CEO I advise put in practice a quarterly “Role Fit Review”. Every VP in her executive meetings now walks through key players and assesses:
Current performance
Level of engagement
Whether there are other roles in which that employee might thrive.
The point isn’t to be constantly restructuring or creating chaos - it’s to ensure the best performers are in the best roles for them and help others find their strengths.
Put It in Practice
Talk About Career Tracks Early and Often
High-performers want to grow, but not always in the way you assume. Knowing up front your employees’ goals will help you to find the right fit for them within the company.
Ask:
“What does growth look like for you?”
“What kind of work lights you up and what drains you?”
“If you could redesign your role, what would it look like?”
Run a Role Fit Review
Ask every leader on your team to evaluate their top 5 reports with these three questions:
Is this person performing?
Are they energized?
Are they gelling with their current team?
Is this the right role for their strengths right now?
Name the Issue, Then Act
Where misalignment within teams exists, you have three options:
Redesign roles to fit the person
Coach to bridge the gap
Reassign or exit if alignment isn’t possible
What to avoid: ignoring the problem until it becomes a resignation.
To try this week: Choose one department. Run a 30-minute Role Fit Review with your leadership team. Ask the hard questions and find new ways to utilize your employees’ strengths.
You Hired Them, Now Help Them Thrive
You didn’t hire people to fill boxes - you hired them to do a job well and have a meaningful impact. Part of that process is identifying your employees’ strengths and matching them with the right role within your organization. Great leaders don’t just hire up - they build alignment one employee at a time.
For more insights on how leaders can instill passion and purpose in their employees, follow Karen Gilhooly here.
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Learn more about how Karen Gilhooly can recharge your workforce and build – or rebuild – a culture of high engagement and high performance at karengilhooly@karengilhooly.com or schedule a free discovery call here.
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