The 9-Box Grid: How to Use it and its Limitations
The 9-box grid is a talent management tool that maps an employee’s current performance against their future potential, placing them in one of nine categories within a 3 x 3 matrix. Organizations use it in two ways: to build individualized talent development programs through performance management, and to nominate candidates for succession planning. The grid is simple to build and easy to discuss, but its limitations mean it is best used as one input among several in a robust succession planning process.
Below, we explain how the traditional grid works, what its nine categories mean, and outline how SIGMA’s 9-box grid template supports the succession planning process and leadership development.
Download SIGMA’s 9-Box Grid Template
What is the 9-Box Grid?
The 9-box grid is a common approach to categorizing talent that is intended to help organizations not only understand the kind of talent they have within their organization, but to also help determine where to focus their professional development efforts and budget. 1 Though anyone can use the 9-box grid, it is typically used by human resources (HR) personnel, leaders, and other development professionals. In addition to being used for talent management, it can also be used to plan for the future of an organization’s leadership through succession planning. However, a robust and actionable succession plan goes beyond identifying talent in an organization, and as such, using the 9-box grid approach alone would not result in a comprehensive succession plan.
What is the Difference Between the Traditional 9-Box Grid and SIGMA’s Version?
Traditionally, the grid categorizes talent based on performance and potential. In this model, performance represents an employee’s past behavior, whereas potential demonstrates an employee’s expected future behavior. Supervisors rate their employees as low, moderate, or high on each metric, placing them within the 3 × 3 grid. This placement can then be used to inform next steps regarding employee development.
SIGMA’s model pairs the standard grid with a structured Talent Review Survey (leader-rated) and a leadership development assessment (self-rated), so potential is grounded in defined competencies rather than a single manager’s impression. This version also uses more granular potential.
SIGMA’s Approach to the 9-Box Grid
SIGMA’s 9-Box Grid evaluates potential from two different perspectives:
- Leader-rated potential
- Assessment-rated potential
Leader-Rated Potential
Leader-rated potential is measured by the Talent Review Survey and is completed by the employee’s direct supervisor. This survey covers five dimensions of employee behaviors and abilities, including performance, initiative, feedback, strategic engagement, and relationships. Each dimension includes a specific definition and is assessed by a defined rating scale.
Assessment-Rated Potential
Assessment-rated potential is measured by the Leadership Skills Profile – Revised® (LSP-R®) Focus Report, which is self-rated by employees. The LSP-R is an evidence-based measure of SIGMA’s leadership competency framework. Incorporating personality-based assessments of leadership potential adds a layer of objectivity to the evaluation process.
The placement of employees on the grid reflects their overall potential as derived from these assessments. SIGMA’s template uses the following categories: low potential, uncertain potential, hidden potential, unverified potential, moderate potential, high potential, and top potential. Regardless of an employee’s category, organizations must take further action to develop support strategies, each uniquely tailored to a specific leadership style.
Benefits of Using SIGMA’s 9-Box Grid
Despite its limitations, the 9-box grid is a commonly used tool in performance management. Leaders and HR professionals opt to use the 9-box grid for a variety of reasons. The 9-box grid:
- Is easy to use.
- Has a simple structure.
- Has step-by-step instructions allow for easy categorization on the grid.
- Can be applied across industries and organizations.
- Requires little background research or data collection.
- Can be completed based on personal observation.
- Creates a visual summary of a company’s talent pool.
- Can be used to compare candidates.
- Can be used to facilitate discussion and decisions.
- Saves time and energy.
- Allows employees to actively participate in the process through self-assessment.
How to Use the Traditional 9-Box Grid
There are three steps to creating an effective 9-box grid that assesses employee potential by performance.
Step 1: Assess Employee Performance
During the first step, the performance level of each employee included is ranked as low, moderate, or high. Performance can be appraised in a variety of ways, and organizations often use the existing infrastructure and systems to evaluate employee performance.
Step 2: Assess Employee Potential
Next, the potential of each employee is assessed as either low, moderate, or high. Potential is defined by how much the employee is expected to grow, their willingness to learn, and their ability to apply their knowledge to on-the-job behaviors. Though many organizations will be familiar with assessing employee performance, employee potential is often a new concept. The two categories can be distinguished by thinking of:
- Performance as past behavior, and
- Potential as expected future behavior.
Step 3: Merge Performance and Potential into a 3×3 Grid
Once all employees have been scored as low, moderate, or high on both performance and potential, they are then organized into one of nine categories in the 9-box grid below.
Figure 1. Traditional 9-Box Grid; a matrix of employee potential by performance
What are the Traditional 9-Box Grid Categories?
Each of the nine boxes pairs a performance rating with a potential rating and implies a different development action:
- Future Leaders (High Performance, High Potential): ready to grow into larger roles. Action: stretch assignments, mentorship, succession planning.
- Key Performers (High Performance, Moderate Potential): strong now, growth path less certain. Action: test readiness with new challenges.
- Core Experts (High Performance, Low Potential): reliable top performers not expected to move up. Action: recognize and retain.
- Emerging Talent (Moderate Performance, High Potential): strong growth signals, not yet a top performer. Action: coach and build skills.
- Core Employees (Moderate Performance, Moderate Potential): the steady middle of the organization. Action: targeted development, keep engaged.
- Steady Contributors (Moderate Performance, Low Potential): dependable, limited growth trajectory. Action: recognize without over-investing.
- Underutilized Talent (Low Performance, High Potential): strong capability held back by fit or experience gaps. Action: clarify expectations, adjust role.
- Inconsistent Performers (Low Performance, Moderate Potential): mixed signals on both axes. Action: identify the root cause first.
- At-Risk (Low Performance, Low Potential): requires urgent attention. Action: performance improvement plan or role change.
How to Use the Traditional 9-Box Grid for Performance Management
Once employees have been categorized into the nine boxes, leaders can create individualized talent development plans for each person based on their respective category. In general, you want to invest the most time, effort, and resources in high performers who have high potential and the least in low performers who have low potential.2 On the 9-box matrix, investment efforts should increase as you move further right and upwards and decrease as you move further left and downwards.
The individuals that are identified as low performers with low potential typically require urgent attention. It is important to identify the root of the problem, such as lack of fit with the position, unclear role expectations, or a poor onboarding experience. You do not want to over-invest in these individuals in the long run, but it is important to examine whether there is anything that can be done to support them in becoming better performers over time.
Though it may not make sense intuitively, individuals can be low performers with moderate to high potential. These individuals often have the foundational skills or education needed to grow with the company, but may lack the experience or may not be right for the specific position they are in. An example of this may be a recent grad who lacks experience but is expected to adapt and learn quickly. This individual may struggle as they practice applying their knowledge for the first time, but still show great potential. It can be worthwhile to clarify expectations and create personalized development plans for these individuals to support them in their onboarding and development.
On the other end of the 9-box matrix, individuals can also be moderate to high performers but have low potential. These individuals perform well in their current position and play an important role in organizations to keep things afloat. For these individuals, you want to do your best to keep them happy and feeling rewarded for their work. However, you also want to be aware that these employees may not be best suited to new positions with more or different responsibilities.
At the top right corner of the 9-box matrix, you will see your high performing, high potential employees. Developing your top talent is essential to helping them grow to their full potential. A lack of investment in these individuals may also results in losing them to competitors, and so it is in your organization’s best interest to show that their potential is recognized and that they have opportunities for development and promotion within the company.
To foster development, be clear about role expectations, provide ongoing feedback, and offer opportunities for training and education. Job shadowing or rotations are another great way to provide high performing, high potential employees with new experiences and practical learning. Where possible, seek to provide top talent with coaching and mentorship opportunities to ensure they have the support they need as they grow with the organization. It is also important to have ongoing conversations with the top talent in your organization to make sure they are happy with their current role, as well as with their development plans (i.e., make sure they also want to move up in the organization).2
Finally, it is important to continue investing in talent that already occupies top leadership positions, as it would be extremely costly to lose these individuals to competitors or have their motivation decline due to feelings of neglect and underappreciation in the organization.
Limitations of the Traditional 9-Box Grid
Problems with Categorization
One challenge with the 9-box grid comes from categorizing individuals as low, moderate, or high on performance and potential. As such, it is important to clearly define the behaviors and/or competencies associated with each category to increase the validity of these judgements.3 Even so, issues can still arise when evaluating individuals across multiple positions or areas of the organization, as critical behaviors and competencies may vary based on a specific position, team, or department.4
Distinguishing Between Performance and Potential
Another limitation of the 9-box grid comes from the need to distinguish between performance and potential. Many organizations already have a method for evaluating performance; however, evaluating employee potential is likely to be less familiar. This may result in individuals being inaccurately rated on potential, as their performance scores or other unrelated factors may bias judgments.3
Employee Reactions
A third limitation of using the 9-box grid is that low-ranking employees may have negative reactions to their score or being labelled as a “low performer” or “low potential”. Consequently, there is debate amongst practitioners and researchers regarding whether to share this information with employees once they have been categorized using the 9-box grid.5 While it is important to be transparent with your employees about their development needs, many have warned against the dangers of negative reactions to feedback about employees’ performance and potential.
Single Step vs. Entire Succession Planning Process
The 9-box grid addresses just a single step in the succession planning process – nominating successors. For example, prior to selecting individuals as potential successors, it is important to identify critical roles for which succession planning must be prioritized. Once critical roles have been determined, individuals currently in those roles should document which behaviors and competencies are integral to performance in that role. Potential successors cannot be nominated until these steps are complete. Then, the next step is to identify potential successors, at which point the 9-box grid can be useful. Following recognition of potential succession candidates, leaders must work with individuals to create personalized development plans to prepare them for the role. This is not always a linear process; it requires monitoring metrics, measuring progress, and adapting plans as needed over time.
Case Study: The Impact of Clear Metrics and Standardized Assessments
Consider, for example, Jane and Sarah, two hypothetical employees who have been selected to participate in a talent development program. Their leadership team decides to use the 9-Box Grid but does not define performance and potential metrics, leaving it to the supervisors to determine evaluation criteria. Unfortunately, Jane’s direct supervisor focuses on a minor mistake, overlooking her holistic performance, and believes that low ratings motivate employees to improve. In contrast, Sarah’s direct supervisor considers Sarah’s overall abilities, and aims to generally rate employees favorably. These subjective factors result in Sarah being placed much higher on the grid than Jane, and the two employees subsequently receive different opportunities for growth and development, impacting their overall career trajectories. Had the leadership team provided more specific definitions and considered using standardized assessments, the organization would have been able to effectively maximize the growth potential of its employees.
How to Use SIGMA’s 9-Box Grid Template
Utilizing SIGMA’s 9-Box Grid in strategic initiatives involves three primary steps:
1. Discuss Talent with the Leadership Team
This initial step involves establishing a dedicated team to discuss the organization’s talent development program, including the value of talent development and how the 9-Box Grid can support this process. Leaders convene to nominate employees for talent development.
2. Complete Assessments
After identifying a select group of employees, the next step is to complete the necessary assessments. This begins by informing employees and their direct supervisors about their role in the talent development process. Employees complete the LSP-R assessment, and their supervisors complete the Talent Review Survey.
3. Populate the Grid
Leaders then compile the scores from both assessments, applying SIGMA’s scoring bands to categorize employees on the grid. Detailed instructions, including the scoring bands and guidelines for filling out the grid, are available in the guide.
SIGMA’s Comprehensive Succession Planning Process
Strong succession plans go beyond selecting potential successors through the 9-box grid. That’s why SIGMA has developed a comprehensive, six-step process for succession planning that expands on traditional methods of succession. These steps include:
- Identifying the roles that are critical to an organization
- Building success profiles for each critical role
- Nominating potential successors for critical positions
- Assessing development needs for each potential candidate
- Developing talent to step into future roles
- Measuring progress of the plan over time
Using SIGMA’s succession planning process, organizations can feel confident that they are prepared for a smooth and successful leadership transition. Our comprehensive six-step process also produces an urgency score for each critical role and the organization at large, indicating how urgently a succession plan must be put in place for each critical role in the plan. These scores consider both the time-sensitive nature of developing successors as well as the strength of the succession bench for each critical role. Together, these scores can help narrow an organization’s focus by highlighting gaps in an organization’s succession plan so that they can be addressed in a timely and efficient manner.
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1 SHRM. (2018). Succession planning: What is a 9-box grid? Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/whatsa9boxgridandhowcananhrdepartmentuseit.aspx
2 van Vulpen, E. (2021). The 9 box grid: A practitioner’s guide. AIHR. Retrieved from https://www.aihr.com/blog/9-box-grid/
3 Hunt, S. T. (2021). The case for junking 9 box assessments. SAP. Retrieved from https://www.sap.com/canada/insights/hr/the-case-for-junking-9-box-assessments.html
4 Knowles, M. (2021). 9 big problems with the McKinsey 9 Box Grid for talent in SMEs. Structured Learning Solutions Ltd. Retrieved from https://structuredlearningsolutions.co.uk/9-big-problems-with-mckinsey-9-box-grid-for-talent-in-smes/
5 Talent Guard. (2021). 9-box ratings: How transparent should you be? Retrieved from https://www.talentguard.com/blog/9-box-ratings-how-transparent-should-you-be
