In “Good to Great,” author Jim Collins emphasizes the need to get the “right people on the bus and in the right seat.” This idea of hiring the best people and placing them in the role that best suits their strengths is a common best practice. However, it is a challenging practice which requires strong management leadership.

In the HR field, I often see personnel issues based on the fact that the employee was not in the right seat of the bus. Or maybe on the wrong bus entirely. Once an employee is hired and a manager realizes that the employee is not working out, a decision needs to be made. Is there another job in the company in which this employee would excel? Can the job description be modified to fit this person’s strengths or is this person not the right member for your team?

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As humans, we tend to give people extra chances or overlook their weaknesses, rather than deal with a potential confrontation. But as managers, we must evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each employee and make a decision on how each person benefits the team. If even one member of your team is not in the right position, it can slowly hurt the whole organization.

When evaluating employees, you should ask yourself, “If I started my own company today, would I want this person to follow me?” If you can’t answer this in the affirmative for all of your employees, then you need to evaluate why. It may be as simple as changing their “seat on the bus, ” or you may have to tell them that they are not on the “right bus” at all. But when you finally have the bus filled with the right people, your company will travel great distances.

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