Paul Michelman, interviews Tom DeLong, Professor, Harvard Business School, on how executives can get more value from their workforce if they recognize and motivate their B players. “These solid, steady performers form the bulk of a workforce–and bring crucial forms of value to companies. CEOs spend 90% of their time with high performers (A players).” DeLong explains why B players are important and offers three tips on managing this group of key workers.

According to DeLong, B players are the heart and soul of organizations, falling into three groups:

1. Recovered A players: former A players who longer want to play the role of an A. They know how to play the game and get things done within the organization.
2. Truth tellers: truth tellers have institutional knowledge of the organization. They know their organization inside and out, but get no credit. They take a long-term perspective on things they work on for the organization. If you’re a CEO, you should have a conversation with this group to understand your company.
3. Go-to managers: managers understand which people to keep at the organization, ensuring the right people stay, the right people are managed out. If you’re a CEO, it’s your go-to managers retaining the core talent of your company.

How to Managing B Players
Acting as a counterbalance the ambitions of the company’s high-performing visionaries, B players are capable, steady performers, often the best supporting actors of the corporate world. Unfortunately, organizations must learn to value their B players in ways that are gratifying for either the company or these employees. DeLong has three recommendations on managing B players:

• Don’t leave performance management discussions until the last minute because you’ve spent the majority of your time with the A player. B players shouldn’t be ignored until late in the process.
• Recognize B players, have an explicit strategy in managing B players. This group doesn’t need strokes like A players. They need some recognition.
• Make sure B players are continually challenged with assignments around tasks that support career development opportunities for the B players. B players want to know that someone other than them are interested in managing their careers.

DeLong effectively zeroes in on why B players are critical to organizations and how to manage group of workers.

Recommended Reading List

• Let’s Hear It for B Players (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition)by Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan
• Don’t Underrate Your Middle Managers (HBR Article Collection)by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Quy Nguyen Huy, and Thomas J. DeLong

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