
In my last post, we explored how aligning team members’ roles with their Need Good Love sweet spot can significantly boost performance. But what happens when you can’t perfectly tailor a job to fit someone’s sweet spot? That’s where the real challenge—and opportunity—lies.
Recently, I had a conversation with a fellow coach who expressed doubts about using the Need Good Love model as a manager. She believed her own success was tied to “toughing out” hard jobs, suggesting that pushing through challenging tasks was part of the recipe for success. And while it’s true that your best employees often have a “can-do” attitude, the danger is that they are also the most susceptible to burnout. As a manager, it's important to make toughing things out the exception, not the norm.
Creating a culture of performance starts with understanding that career alignment doesn’t mean perfection. It means supporting your team in ways that help them succeed, even when everything isn’t perfectly aligned.
Step One: Identify Areas of Alignment
The first step in improving performance through alignment is to identify where it already exists. Find the tasks or responsibilities that fall within the employee’s sweet spot—the intersection of what they need, what they’re good at, and what they love. Once identified, give the employee more of this type of work, and don’t forget to celebrate their successes. When people are recognized for excelling in areas that match their strengths, their engagement and performance soar.
Step Two: Identify Areas of Misalignment
The reality is that not every job can be perfectly tailored to fit someone’s career sweet spot. But it’s just as important to identify where misalignment exists as it is to find where things are working. Leaders need to recognize when a team member’s role doesn’t fully align with their Need Good Love sweet spot and figure out ways to manage or address those misalignments without expecting perfection.
Step Three: Create Safety to Talk About Alignment and Misalignment
Here’s a truth we all need to embrace: not everyone is good at everything, and that’s okay. Many workplaces expect people to be superhuman, hiding their weaknesses and pretending to excel in every area. That’s not realistic, and it only makes people miserable. There’s nothing worse than having an employee struggle with a task but be too afraid to admit it, making it hard for you as a leader to help them improve.
Instead, create an environment where it’s safe to talk about both alignment and misalignment. When team members feel comfortable discussing where they excel and where they struggle, it opens the door to meaningful conversations about how to manage those misalignments. This kind of openness leads to better support, higher morale, and ultimately, improved performance.
The Power of Honest Conversations about Career Alignment
Alignment is a powerful concept, but it’s not a magic solution. The real strength of the Need Good Love model lies in creating a culture where career alignment is actively pursued, but where it’s also okay to acknowledge and manage the parts of a job that don’t perfectly fit. By fostering open conversations about alignment, you create an environment where team members feel supported, valued, and motivated—even when the work isn’t always perfectly aligned.
What’s Next? Managing Misalignment in the Workplace
In my next post, we’ll explore practical strategies for managing those areas of misalignment that are inevitable in every job. We’ll talk about how to create a workplace where misaligned tasks can still get done without burning people out, and how to keep your team engaged, even when not every part of the job fits their sweet spot. Don’t miss it!
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