What to Do with Steady Performers

Manager Focus: Motivate!

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B-Players are Positive Impact Team Members Who Have Significant Upside for Growth

An employee assessment score of a “B-Player” means this team member provides your organization with value and shows room for growth.

This team member consistently delivers and has good behavioral competencies but could be better and do more.

With the right development opportunities, they could be an A-player

When properly motivated your B-Players can give your organization a competitive edge over the competition.

Having Conversations with this Team Member

This is a steady performer in your organization who helps your organization maintain a competitive position in the marketplace. We want to see if they have the aspiration to contribute at a higher level.

Conversation Starters:

What is going well?
Can you identify any opportunities for improvement?
What are your biggest motivators?
How can I help or support you better?
You have the potential to be leading contributor, so what are some things that you can focus on to take you to that next level?
I value your input and would love to hear your ideas.

Having Conversations with This Team Member

When opening the conversation, here are some approaches to consider:

Do a simple drop by their desk or office
Use basic gratitude language:
- "thank you"
- "well done"
- "appreciate your input"
- "I really liked how you ___________"
- "Great job getting _______________done on time"
- “You got it, now lets take it a step further”
B-Players need a push, a nudge or motivator. Something to ignite the fire

- Ask for their opinion on how to make something top rate or best in class
- Upon conclusion of a big project or deadline, ask the B-Player for feedback or suggestions on what can be done differently -- individually or by the team -- to really step it up
- Act on their suggestions. Otherwise, their suggestions are meaningless

Make Your Team Member an A-Player

Now that you've opened the conversation, here are some discussion topics to consider:

Identify the Truvelop category where the B Player has the most potential upside
Is it Employee Performance, Maintenance, or Attitude?
Identify the area where they need to improve the most: Performance, Maintenance, or Attitude?
Help the team member build an action plan with clear time guidelines and measurable steps to reach improvement milestones

Identify intrinsic motivators:

Sense of accomplishment
Personal pride
Personal goals
Feeling valued in the organization

Identify extrinsic motivators:

Milestones and achievements
Celebrate anniversaries, major achievements if that's something that resonates with the team member
Position
Income
Recognition--this should be based on the team member's comfort level and desire for public recognition

Recognize accomplishments in line with their motivational preferences:

Do they like public recognition?
Do they prefer a quiet, personal recognition?
Do they thrive inside or outside of the spotlight?

Bring Together Your Motivators

You want continued growth and development.

They want more of what motivates them.

Create a development plan that connects that individuals motivational preferences with the Performance, Attitude, and Maintenance targets you set for them.

Include action steps for the team member in the comments section on the team member’s individual dashboard in Truvelop.

Additional Questions

Quality questions trigger quality conversations that lead to growth and enhanced productivity. Empowering the Team Member to be an active participant in the development conversation is a great way to boost engagement and motivation.

"How can I/we better help you the next time?"
"What was your big take away from that?"
"What do you think about _____________"
"Is there anything that you think we should do differently when it comes to ______________."

Your Objective: Grow B-Players into A-Players

Your B-Players are solid members of your team. Build on that.

When properly motivated B-players can help improve your edge over the competition. They key is three-fold:

Identifying their potential
Expanding their existing skill set
Tapping into their motivations

Excellent firms don't believe in excellence - only in constant improvement and constant change.

Tom Peters

Business Author

Headlines, in a way, are what mislead you because bad news is a headline, and gradual improvement is not.

Bill Gates

Microsoft Founder

You know what 'FAILING' stands for? It stands for 'Finding an Important Lesson, Inviting Needed Growth.'

Gary Busey

Actor

Share your success story

We are always looking for success stories to share. Tell us an approach or technique that you have used to help one of your team members grow and succeed and we'll share it here.

Send us an email with your success story. Send it to success@truvelop.com.

We look forward to hearing--and sharing--your success story.