What is the 9-Box Grid?

The "9-box" grid allows managers to visualise where their team members might lie in terms of who's ready for their next step of career growth. It is designed to assess and analyze the performance and potential of individuals or resources within an organization.

How we measure someone's potential and performance can be subjective, but it's not arbitrary. As leaders, we should be able to set some standards of our own and benchmark our team's performance and potential against those standards.

The grid consists of a 3x3 matrix, with performance on one axis and potential on the other. The performance axis typically measures an individual's or resource's current level of competence, skills, and achievements, while the potential axis evaluates their ability to grow, develop, and take on more responsibility in the future.

By using the 9-box grid, organizations can gain insights into the strengths, weaknesses, and developmental needs of their resources. It helps in making informed decisions regarding talent management, succession planning, training and development initiatives, and resource allocation.

While typically used by HR departments to manage talent, managers can also benefit from doing a similar exercise to understand how to support their team better.