July 29, 2003

Are you supporting your B players?
Posted by tzannos@bostonworks.com">Svetlana Husseini at 9:43 AM -

B players are some of the most loyal and productive employees companies have. Are you managing them properly? From HBS Working Knowledge:

According to HBS professor Thomas J. DeLong, both in a reunion session for HBS alumni and in a recent Harvard Business Review article co-authored with Vineeta Vijayaraghavan, B players are the “heart and soul” of any company. B players are loyal. They are the ones who do their work without fanfare or fuss. They are the keepers of institutional memory during hard times such as a merger or downsizing.

There are some who could be A players but have chosen not to for lifestyle reasons. There are others who aren’t ever going to be stars, “which is fine,” said DeLong. Unlike A players, B players are often more secure in their objectives and know where they want to go. They need less feedback; they don’t want handholding.

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