Lesson 7: Right People, Right Places
Contents
Video
Right People, Right Places
The most important decisions a leader makes are people decisions. You can have the best strategy in the world, but if you have the wrong people in the wrong roles, execution will always disappoint. Conversely, even an imperfect strategy can succeed with the right team.
This lesson introduces the RIGHT system - a framework for thinking about team fit and composition in a way that is both rigorous and humane.
The RIGHT System
R - Right Skills
Does each person on your team have the skills the role requires? This is not just about technical skills - it includes communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and the ability to grow with the role. Assess honestly. Identify gaps. Create development plans where the skills can be built. Recognize when a gap cannot be filled through development and make the harder decision.
I - Invest in Development
Great teams are built, not hired. Even strong performers need investment - new challenges, coaching, learning opportunities, and mentorship. Leaders who only acquire talent without developing it will eventually find that their best people leave for environments that do invest in them.
Development is also a retention strategy. People who feel they are growing are more likely to stay, contribute, and bring others along.
G - Goals Alignment
Is each person working toward goals that align with what the team and organization need? Misalignment here is one of the most common causes of underperformance - not because the person is incapable, but because what they are optimizing for is different from what the organization needs.
Check this regularly. Goals should be co-created, clearly understood, and revisited when priorities shift.
H - High Standards
High-performing teams have high standards - not just for output, but for how people treat each other, communicate, and take ownership of problems. As the leader, you set the standard through your own behavior. If you tolerate mediocrity in yourself, you are signaling that you will tolerate it in others.
Holding high standards also means addressing underperformance directly and promptly. Allowing poor performance to persist is unfair to the high performers on your team, who notice.
T - Trust and Culture
The best team compositions fail without trust. People need to feel safe to speak honestly, raise concerns, make mistakes, and ask for help. Trust is built through consistent behavior - following through on commitments, treating people fairly, being transparent when things go wrong.
Culture is what happens when the leader is not in the room. Build it deliberately. The norms your team operates by, the way conflict gets resolved, the way success is celebrated - all of it reflects the culture you have either designed or allowed to happen by default.