The Different Types of Employees & How to Manage Each One

In my neighborhood growing up, my friends and I were like feral cats who would have gotten into far more trouble if it wasn’t for sports. In the summer, it was wiffleball. The spring and fall brought basketball under the streetlight. And then along came street hockey in the winter. Every game started with two captains picking their own teams. Each captain was going through the mental exercise of sifting and sorting who was the best and who was not. There were players who would help you win, and others who would cause you to lose. And as some of us may remember, those picked last would sometimes feel embarrassment and shame.

Leaders of organizations need to do their own sifting and sorting process regarding their teams as well. I recently guided one of our clients through this exercise using four primary types of employees based on potential and performance. Let’s take a deeper look at each of these four types and how you should manage each one.

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1. Weak Links

Weak Links are the employees who are not showing high potential and their performance is not meeting even your most basic expectations. They may not receive coaching well. Or perhaps they resist learning new skills or improving existing ones. Quite often, they are not a good fit for your organization’s culture, but they may end up experiencing great success at another organization.

Regardless of the reasons why they are Weak Links, if you have attempted to provide clear expectations and ongoing coaching and feedback, yet they fail to move out of the weak box, it may be time to move them on. The longer you tolerate Weak Links, the more damage they cause to your team morale, organizational performance, and even customer satisfaction. Wise leaders and managers will work hard to help everyone succeed, but when someone is not showing the improvement needed to get out of the Weak Link box, timely action is required. Delaying this decision is seldom best for the team, the organization, or even the employee.

2. Hidden Gems

I recently heard an expert on gems talk about how easy it is to overlook what could be a highly valuable and beautiful diamond. Why? Because their real value has not yet been brought out of the rough stone. Every organization has Hidden Gems – team members who are in the wrong slot or not given the right opportunities. Or perhaps they have a manager who doesn’t see the employee's potential and won’t make the investment in them. Sometimes, Hidden Gems are also just not the right fit for the organization’s culture. But even though Hidden Gems may not be performing well at the moment, they have strong upside potential.

I have missed a few Hidden Gems in my time of leading – people who have gone on to become exceptional leaders and high-level performers in another setting. Sometimes the Hidden Gem just needs a new opportunity or a new context. Or they may need a different role or appropriate training and coaching. We would be wise to make sure we do not overlook too many of these Hidden Gems, or they may become our greatest competitor.

3. Core Members

Core members serve as the backbone of every team. They are known for being highly reliable. And their lack of desire to climb the organizational ladder is not a reflection of low motivation, but rather one of satisfaction in the work they do in their current role. Just like in professional sports, for every Superstar on a team, there is a small army of Core Members that makes it possible for the Superstar to shine.

It is easy for leaders to overlook Core Members since they are seldom well known or highly visible. In nearly every organization where I have worked, there were Core Members whose knowledge, diligence, and steadiness made it possible for the leaders to lead effectively and for the organization to flourish. The word “Core” is used very purposefully to describe these team members. Just as the core of our physical bodies (abdominal muscles, hip muscles, and lower back) is vital to our overall health, so it goes with Core Members of our team who provide stability and structure to ensure the overall performance of the enterprise.

4. Superstars

Every profession has its Superstars, including medicine, sports, science, and business. What is it that makes these women and men stand out from the rest? It’s often some unique combination of their intellect, resilience, willingness to take risks, ability to create and communicate compelling vision, and extraordinary motivation. I often refer to them as “1 percenters” since they are rarer than other types of employees. Sometimes these team members are still emerging, and the full spectrum of their talents has not yet been reached. Superstars can create a lot of positive energy, are often great communicators, and are commonly known to be good at sales. At their worst, they can create a lot of damage if they are narcissistic! Trust me, we have seen it many times.

Most highly successful organizations have at least one Superstar and sometimes more. Superstars need to be managed wisely and carefully. If they are an emerging superstar and you miss it, they will be snatched away by a competitor. If you erase most boundaries and rules for them, you will likely get burned in the long run. If you treat them like any other team member without making some accommodations, you will likely lose them.

Not sure where your team members fall or what to do once you figure it out? Our consulting team can walk you through this sifting process and build a clear, actionable strategy for developing every type of employee in your organization. Contact us to learn more.

Jay Desko is the President & CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.