According to Gallup, organizations fail to choose the right candidate with the right talent for the right position 82% of the time. On the surface, that figure may not seem likely, but it’s supported by another Gallup study that states 90% of people don’t believe the person they report to is leadership ready. This is likely because many promotions and assignments are based on functional expertise – not leadership ability. A brilliant individual contributor doesn’t automatically make a great team leader. Misaligned assignments lead to team disengagement, poor performance, and high turnover.
As it is easier to find the right functional expertise, the Elite Leadership Academy sought to create a solution to help organizations hire and promote people based on their leadership abilities. This solution is based on the extensively researched and proven Leadership IMPACT Assessment™ framework used for several years to measure and track leadership growth, improve retention of high-impact leaders and identify toxic leaders. The goal is to help organizations select the right person with the right leadership abilities for the right opportunity at the right time.
Using a position description for ACME Tools, Director of Sales position description, our proprietary AI model helps organizations identify misaligned leaders based on the position requirements and their leadership skillset. The leadership dimensions are rated on a 7-point Likert scale with three justifications provided for each rating. The results are compared to the population average of all who have taken the assessment as well as to people at the same organization level in the database. Recommendations are provided after the analysis to help ACME assess the leadership situation and how to determine a leaders suitability for the position.
Cost of Misaligned Leadership Assignments
Assigning or promoting the wrong leader to a position is very costly in terms of lower engagement, morale and productivity by the team they are charged with leading. It can also increase turnover, especially by high performers or high potential team members, since they are usually the most marketable and most likely to leave. Studies have put the cost of low engagement at $12,000 per year per misaligned assignment. In an organization of 1,000 employees with a misaligned assignment rate of 82%, the annual costs could be $9.8 million annually. The costs are even higher if substantial turnover is involved. Even with a lower misalignment rate, the costs can still be very substantial.
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Leadership Position Profile Misalignment Analysis Example
Given a description for the Director of Sales position at ACME Tools, we were able to use our data and an AI model we developed to analyze the leadership requirements for the position.
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The director would be responsible for leading a team of regional sales managers, key account and manufacturer rep agencies to develop sales in an assigned geographic area, corporate accounts, and specific channels of distribution. The Director of Sales will train, develop, and motivate the team to forge relationships with our distribution network, direct independent sales representatives, and establish strategic partnerships with major accounts.
Based on the position description, a leadership position profile was created using the dimensions and leadership behavior definitions utilized in our Leadership IMPACT Assessment™ framework. Each dimension was rated on a 7-point Likert scale with justifications for each rating provided.
Director of Sales Position Leadership Requirements Summary:
- Top Priorities (7/7): Vision, Risk-Taking, Visioning, Living
- High Priorities (6/7): Empathy
- Moderate Priorities (5/7): Assessing
- Low Priorities (4/7): Humility, Reflecting, Coaching & Mentoring
- No Priority (<4): None
Sample Individual Ratings of Leadership Requirements
Humility – 4/7
- Emphasizes collaborative teamwork and valuing each other’s contributions without strong language about self-effacement or learning from subordinates.
- Highlights reliability, responsibility, and ownership, which support grounded behavior but do not directly stress leader modesty.
- Frames the role as a key strategic contact with buying and marketing groups, which can reinforce positional authority more than explicit humility.
Empathy – 6/7
- Stresses strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate at all levels with kindness, openness, honesty, and valuing contributions.
- Requires maintaining positive key customer relationships and providing timely, responsive, and accurate account support, which demands understanding others’ perspectives.
- Calls for the ability to work collaboratively with internal and external teams and lead effective field sales teams, implying attention to people’s needs and motivations.
By following this analysis, ACME Tools can reduce misalignment resulting in higher team engagement, better performance, and lower turnover.
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To learn more about our leadership misalignment solution, please contact us to schedule a brief strategy session.
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