Can You Relate: Right Person, Wrong Seat? Part 2

I’m excited to share this story with you as part 2 of our People Series. Can you relate to having a great person that left the company and you had no idea why? Well, you’re not alone. This client was absolutely perplexed when a great employee left. After using the People Analyzer^TM and GWC^TM, we were able to quickly cut through the confusion and get REAL clarity on why.

The Situation. Great Employee, Great Work, Why Did He Leave?

This client had just begun their EOS journey when this situation arose.  As we began our first session and got further in our conversation, it became clear, no matter what else we had planned to discuss that day, this lingering question of ‘why would he leave?’ wasn’t going away.  The owner shared with me that his entire leadership team had been trying to figure out all week why this employee left. Not only did the owner really like this employee, but he was also a rock star at their job.  And, to make it worse, this employee didn’t leave for another job, he just decided to leave. Why?

What Does the Team Think?

As the rest of the leadership team joined our conversation, they wanted to share all their stories and experiences related to this employee. It became clear, most of them did NOT like this person. They were frustrated with him, but struggled with specific examples and kept saying he just doesn’t fit with the rest of us. They did not think he was the Right Person. Then, one brave employee raised his hand to say he thought that person fit their core values perfectly. Hmmm.

Round and Round

The conversation had become circular… lots of discussions, story-telling about various situations, hypothesizing, etc. yet they were all unable to pinpoint what caused this person to quit.

EOS Tools at Work: In 10 minutes We Solved the Why

Still no closer to an answer, I asked if they’d be willing to try the 2 EOS People Tools we use to decipher if we have the Right Person in the Right Seat.  I have worked with many clients in the past where this process brought them clarity about the right people in the right seat in the company. I was confident it would work for them too.

Since they all thought he was the Wrong Person, I facilitated the leadership team through the People Analyzer tool first   – and EVERY PERSON gave him ‘+’s across the board.  To their surprise, culture fit wasn’t a problem like they thought. Turns out he did fit their culture like a glove.  But he still rubbed them the wrong way, and the owner was still not sure why this person would leave.

So we turned to GWC to see if he had been in the Right Seat. The team was again unanimous:

• Turns out, he ‘Got it’ – YES,
• He had ‘Capacity/Capability’ to do it,
• But … ‘Want It’ was a NO.

The job he was hired to do, he didn’t love doing it. In fact, what he actually wanted to do as a job didn’t exist at their company. This person was never going to come to work excited to be there – no matter how much he liked the people or was able to do the job.

This is just one example of why EOS can be so powerful and I love helping clients through the process. This was their “light bulb” moment – in 10 minutes things clicked into place and they all had a full understanding of why this person didn’t fit the position.

Curious how these EOS Tools can help your leadership team get clarity on the right people, and that they are in the right seat? Let’s talk about your challenges and how I might be able to help. Contact me today.