Upgrade Your Talent Strategy

Lauren Parkhill

Jun 26, 2025 9 min read

Why the 9-Box Isn't Enough for Today's Leadership Needs

Talent decisions are some of the most impactful decisions an organization can make. And for years, the 9-box talent grid has been a go-to framework for evaluating and managing leadership potential. But as expectations for leaders evolve—and as organizations demand more future-ready skills—it's time to ask: Is the 9-box enough?

What Is the 9-Box Talent Grid?

The 9-box grid is a popular talent management tool used to evaluate employees across two key dimensions:

Performance – how well someone is currently delivering results in their role
Potential – their capacity to grow into bigger or more complex leadership roles

These two axes create nine boxes, or segments, that help identify which employees are high performers, future leaders, or in need of support. The goal is to support succession planning, inform development decisions, and invest in the right people.

A quick look at the two axes:

Axis	Description
Performance	Usually measured by achievement of goals, quality of work, and reliability. Often tied to past and current metrics.
Potential	A more subjective measure, looking at traits like learning agility, leadership presence, ability to take on broader responsibilities.

What Are the 9 Boxes Supposed to Show Us?

Each box on the grid represents a combination of performance (low, moderate, high) and potential (low, moderate, high). These categories aim to help HR and leadership teams assess where individuals currently stand and how they might grow with the right development. The table below represents the spectrum of potential / performance that you might find on a typical 9-box grid:

High Potential	Untapped potential; may need different challenges or environments to thrive.	Emerging leaders who are developing quickly and show clear upside.	Top talent—ready for promotion, broader responsibility, or critical roles.
Moderate Potential	Early in career or struggling; shows promise but needs development	Solid talent with potential to grow with the right support.	High achievers who may be ready for stretch roles or leadership paths.
Low Potential	May be misaligned with role or organization; may need support or transition	Steady contributors, but unlikely to move into leadership roles	Strong performers who may have hit their peak; valuable in current roles.
	Low Performance	Moderate Performance	High Performance

Organizations often tend to focus heavily on the top-right box (high performance, high potential), but smart talent strategies look across the entire grid to understand not just who’s ready now, but who’s ready to grow.

Why Organizations Use the 9-Box

When applied consistently, the 9-box can:

Create a shared language for talent reviews
Help leaders compare across teams and departments
Flag top talent for advancement
Highlight areas where support or development is needed

It’s simple. It’s visual. And for many organizations, it’s a familiar part of talent conversations. But simplicity has its limits.

The Problem: The 9-Box Leaves Too Much Out

While the 9-box offers a snapshot of talent, it also introduces several challenges—especially in today’s rapidly changing workplace.

It relies on subjective interpretation: Performance is often backed by data. Potential? Not so much. Leaders may confuse likeability, tenure, or visibility for true growth potential.
It reinforces bias: Without clear criteria, assessments of potential are vulnerable to unconscious bias. High-potential lists often lack diversity, and those in the “middle boxes” may be overlooked, even if they’re quietly ready for more.
It’s static: Leadership is dynamic. One grid doesn’t account for emerging skills, changing business needs, or personal growth over time.
It doesn’t reflect future-readiness: What got someone here won’t necessarily get them there. The 9-box often measures what a leader has done, not what they can do next.

A Better Way: Go Beyond the Grid

To truly develop and deploy leadership talent, you need tools that look both backward and forward—tools that evaluate current performance and stretch potential based on measurable, observable behaviors.

Consider a 360-Degree Feedback Approach

Unlike the 9-box, a 360-degree feedback tool gathers insights from:

Managers
Peers
Direct reports
Self-reflection

This comprehensive view highlights not just what someone delivers, but how they lead. When paired with a proven leadership framework—like The Leadership Challenge®—360 tools can uncover:

Strengths to build on
Hidden leadership capabilities
Specific growth areas aligned with organizational needs

A 360 Shows:

Where leaders are now (skills, behaviors, influence)
Where they could go (based on stretch competencies and feedback)
What to do next (action plans, coaching, targeted development)

To truly act on these insights, personalized development is essential. That means building individual leadership development plans tailored to each person’s needs and aspirations. Customized coaching, targeted skill-building, and experiential learning should be aligned not only to performance metrics, but also to potential and readiness for future roles. This individualized approach ensures that you’re not just filling boxes—you’re preparing leaders to grow, evolve, and lead with impact.

Add Depth with Behavioral Insight: How Everything DiSC Supports Talent Decisions

While 360 tools help you measure current behaviors and effectiveness, Everything DiSC® adds another critical lens: behavioral preferences and tendencies. These insights don’t just show where a leader is today—they help you understand how someone is wired to lead, interact, and adapt.

Everything DiSC reveals how individuals:

Respond to pressure and change
Make decisions and communicate
Influence and collaborate with others
Navigate conflict and motivate teams

When integrated into talent conversations, Everything DiSC helps uncover natural strengths and potential derailers. It’s especially powerful for identifying leadership potential beyond performance—surfacing traits like emotional intelligence, adaptability, and interpersonal savvy that are essential for future success.

In short: Everything DiSC can move the conversation from “What are they doing now?” to “What could they be great at with the right support?”

How 360 Feedback and Everything DiSC Work Together to Deepen Talent Insight

Tool	Primary Focus	Strengths	Use in Talent Management
LPI® 360-Degree Feedback	Feedback from managers, peers, reports, self	Measures how someone is currently showing up as a leader	Identifies current strengths and gaps for development
Everything DiSC®	Behavioral tendencies and leadership style	Uncovers natural preferences, motivations, and potential derailers	Highlights leadership potential and adaptability for the future
Together	Holistic view of behavior + perception	Combines current feedback with predictive insight to inform development plans	Supports more accurate talent assessments and growth paths

Move from Labels to Leadership Development

When you rely solely on a 9-box, talent decisions become more about labeling than growing. But when you add tools like the LPI 360 feedback and Everything DiSC into the mix, you create a culture of development, not just evaluation.

You move from:

"Who's ready now?" to "Who can we prepare for what's next?"
"Who’s in what box?" to "What does this leader need to thrive?"

Upgrade to a More Comprehensive and Equitable Approach to Developing Your Leaders.

At FlashPoint Leadership, we help organizations move beyond static models to dynamic leadership development strategies. From 360 feedback to personalized coaching and DiSC-based insights, we support talent decisions that are forward-thinking, inclusive, and growth-oriented.

Let’s talk about how to build your future leadership pipeline—today. Contact us for a consultation or product demo.