Skills-matrix

To let teams grow so they can take responsibility for the result, it is important that they have the right expertise in the team. This is not always made explicit. By doing so, you make the team’s vulnerabilities and growth opportunities visible. 

A practice you can use is the skills-matrix, which you let the team fill in themselves:

• Place the necessary skills, knowledge, and expertise needed to achieve the goal for which the team is responsible on one side of the matrix (the Y-axis).

• Place the expertise per team member and the corresponding score on the other side of the matrix (the X-axis). You can use the following categories: 0 = no knowledge, 1 = beginner, 2 = independent, 3 = expert.

• Review the completed matrix together. It shows how many team members have a certain expertise and how much experience there is in that area.

• Look for growth opportunities and vulnerabilities in the matrix. For example: we have only one team member who can assess, but we should have two. How can we arrange within the current team to grow to two assessors?

• Determine together for each growth opportunity or vulnerability what actions can be taken. Note that you should not look too quickly for new team members. The principle of responsive organizations is to use the team’s and team members’ learning ability. By growing into broader profiles, certain vulnerabilities can be addressed with the same team members.