The Competency / Hard Worker Matrix

David Thornhill
Aug 8, 2017 · 1 min read

Take a look at the following Matrix and tell me which one of the following is the best and which is the worst worker to hire (or volunteer to engage).

The Matrix

The BEST is obviously the person who is Competent and a Hard Worker. This person is in their sweet spot and will do great things.

The WORST is not as obvious. Your inclination might be to think that the person who is Not Competent and Not a Hard Worker is the worst…wrong! The worst is the person who is Not Competent but is a Hard Worker. The reason I say this is because this person will constantly be hustling and producing bad results. You’ll have to routinely clean up after them.

Competency: Our job as leaders is to figure out where each member of our team (hired or volunteer) is competent and use them this way. Both you and they will be less frustrated and more likely to win!

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