What Is The McKinsey Skill Will Matrix?

For managers looking for new ways to help staff reach their potential, the McKinsey Skill Will Matrix is a simple tool that can yield great results.

In this article, we will discuss the background of the Skill Will Matrix, what it looks for, and the best way it should be used to improve motivation and ability in the workplace so that every member of staff is performing highly and is motivated for success.

What is the McKinsey Skill Will Matrix?

The McKinsey Skill Will Matrix was derived from the Situational Leadership model that was championed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard back in the 1970s. Their leadership model was all about flexibility in leadership style, working with staff members and employees in the way that was most useful for them.

Making the style of leadership match the situation and the specific needs of the employees, better working relationships can develop and staff members are supported to become the best versions of themselves.

In practice, the Skill Will Matrix is a 2 x 2 matrix consisting of four quadrants. Along the bottom axis is skill, and along the vertical axis is will. Each quadrant is a combination of skill and will, either high or low.

Why is the McKinsey Skill Will Matrix used?

The McKinsey Skill Will Matrix is used in several different ways in the workplace, and they are all about helping managers to work with their staff in the most effective ways. Managers can use the Matrix to plot each member of the team, giving a clear vision of which staff member needs what specific help.

The McKinsey Skill Will Matrix might be used in the following situations:

• Hiring new starters.

• Hiring new managers.

• Returning to work after statutory leave.

• Creating an agile team.

• Improving leadership.

• Personal development.

• Organizational restructurings like mergers and acquisitions.

How the McKinsey Skill Will Matrix Works

Let’s look at the structure of the Skill Will Matrix first. Each axis is labeled either skill, or will.

Skill

Skill is the term used in the Matrix to describe an employee’s ability to complete their tasks. It is related to their competencies, and linked to the knowledge they have acquired in the role either through experience or training (or a combination of both). Generally speaking, any candidate can have some skill, and they might be categorized as beginner, intermediate, advanced, or expert.

Will

This is less obvious and might be considered slightly more challenging to quantify, but the will mentioned in the Matrix is all about the motivation and enthusiasm that an employee has to complete the tasks they need to in their role. This can be affected both positively and negatively by things like their skill, their aspirations and the culture of the workplace, as well as their personal life.

The Quadrants

As previously mentioned, there are four distinct quadrants in the McKinsey Skill Will Matrix, and each describes a certain type of staff member and behavior.

High Will/Low Skill

In this quadrant, you will find employees who are really engaged with their work but do not have the highest level of skills. They might be referred to as contributors because they are enthusiastic and energetic, ready to take on all challenges.

High Skill/High Will

In this quadrant is where those with high potential will be found. Employees in this quadrant are both highly competent in their role and motivated too - which makes these employees the best for business.

Low Will/Low Skill

In this quadrant, staff who lack both competence and motivation will be found, and it is important to work out why they are not engaged or working to better themselves. This is where those that are low performers will be found, and they can be the most challenging to manage.

Low Will/High Skill

This quadrant is where there can be problems with culture, with a disaffected high performer who might be capable and meet the requirements of the role, but they might display negative behaviors. These are sometimes referred to as potential detractors and are often longer-term team members who are not being challenged enough.

Assessing employee skills

Identifying the skills of employees is the first step in utilizing the McKinsey Skill Will Matrix tool. You first need to establish what each member of your team has in terms of skills related to their role, and there can be different ways of accessing this information.

One of the best ways is to look at their employee records, where any details of training and certifications will be held. You will also want to bear in mind their experience and length of service as this will help give you an idea of their level of competency.

Understanding their strengths and weaknesses in the role will help you decide what their level of skill is.

Another way that you can assess skills in an employee is to take information from the Personal Development Review, looking at the targets they have been set and those that they have achieved or exceeded. You will also know what they are struggling with as well as what they are doing well, which is really important.

With this knowledge in hand, you will be able to place each team member in their relevant place on the skill axis, which is a good start.

Assessing employee willingness

Will is a little bit harder to evaluate, but there are several ways that you can get data to help you plot each employee on the Will axis of the Matrix.

The Personal Development Review is not only the place for gathering information about skill level - it can also give you data on motivation and enthusiasm, too. You’ll know which staff members have engaged thoroughly with different parts of the role from this.

You can apply 360 feedback and get detailed responses about employees from their peers, from other managers, and from others who know them on a work level.

You might also want to have a face-to-face meeting with the employee, getting first-hand information and perspective into the way they feel.

Some of the things to consider when looking into Will include:

• Are they ambitious with professional goals?

• Do they take on extra work or responsibilities even when they are not asked to?

• Are they a generally positive person to work with?

• Do they have good working relationships across the business?

• Have they changed jobs often?

Implementing the McKinsey skill will matrix

Once each employee has had their skill and will levels plotted onto the matrix, you will be able to see at a glance what management style you need to employ to get the best out of the team.

For managers, this information is only as good as the meaning behind it - knowing that you have someone on the team who is High Will/Low Skill on your team is one thing, but changing the way that you lead them is another - and that can only come with knowledge.

Who is in each quadrant?

Below is some information that might help managers to change their leadership approach to get the best out of each type of employee.

High Will/Low Skill

The enthusiastic contributors might be the new starter who is really energetic but lacks job knowledge - and to support them as a leader, the best thing that you can do is offer opportunities for training and for growth. Employees in this quadrant aim to please and they will respond well to small successes being praised and rewarded. They also benefit from being coached and working with mentors.

High Skill/High Will

The competent high potential employees in this quadrant are the ones that you want to delegate to. You will need to give them challenges to help them to retain the same level of motivation and enthusiasm, and you should consider working with them to give them more leadership opportunities. They might enjoy mentoring others or going for a promotion.

Low Will/Low Skill

Employees who have low will and low skill will have low performance, and managing this type of employee can be difficult.

One of the most important things to consider here is if there is a reason that they are not engaged - are they in the wrong role and would they perform better elsewhere? Do they just need help to reach the required competency to get more motivation?

These employees need direction, with lots of feedback and probably incentivization to be effective - and you might need to consider a micromanaging approach with performance plans and extra training.

If they do not improve and there is nowhere suitable for them in the organization, you may have to consider terminating their employment.

Low Will/High Skill

The capable staff member who seems to have stopped caring might just be getting complacent having been in the role for a long time. They may respond to receiving extra responsibility or being given more authority, and they are in an excellent place for a change of role.

It is important to get to know why there has been a negative change in behavior, as that lack of motivation can bring down morale and affect the company culture.

Advantages of the McKinsey Skill Will Matrix

Improved communication and collaboration

The simplistic nature of the matrix - and the visual aspect of the tool - means that communication and collaboration is much easier. Managers can see where their staff are and how to help them work more effectively, and it is an easy way to get to know more about each staff member.

Better understanding of employees’ strengths and weaknesses

Even the highest achieving staff member will have weaknesses, and a subjective review process like this can highlight what those weaknesses are and give managers a chance to find a solution. Flexible leadership means getting to know what works for each employee in different situations.

Increased engagement and motivation

The point of this exercise is to ensure that all staff are engaged and motivated as well as skilled enough in the role that they are in. By increasing engagement, employees are more likely to want to increase their skill level and take on more leadership roles and more responsibility.

Improved team performance and productivity

An engaged and skilled team is going to perform better - it is a natural progression - so this will also help develop better workplace culture. High-performing teams are more likely to be productive too, which is obviously beneficial for profit.

Limitations of the McKinsey skill will matrix

Potential for oversimplification

The simple nature of the McKinsey Skill Will Matrix might be a draw for some, but it can oversimplify the process and make it a bit less individualistic than your company might need. The Skill Will Matrix is not designed to be a standalone tool, and should be used in conjunction with other leadership tools.

Subjectivity of assessing skills and will attributes

When assessing Will in particular, it can only be subjective - especially when you are using information and data that comes from peers and other staff members. Subjective data has its uses, but in this case, it can be a problem. Skills are less subjective, but managers need to remember that this sort of data is not absolute.

Limited applicability to certain types of work and industries

Not all businesses will find that the McKinsey Skill Will Matrix is suitable for their teams. Certain types of work and certain industries will find the results of the Matrix less useful than others.

Final thoughts

For a simple overview of performance and ability, the McKinsey Skill Will Matrix is a grid that can be used as a valuable performance management tool.

By allowing managers to customize the way that they work with individual employees based on their level of skill relative to their motivation (will), higher-performing teams can be created that will benefit the productivity of the business.

The McKinsey Skill Will Matrix is a straightforward way to approach employees who are not performing, and it also provides a framework for employees who are performing to develop further.

HR teams who want to use the Matrix do need to be aware that it can be too simplistic and even unsuitable in some cases, so it should be used in conjunction with other performance management tools for the best results.