HR Should Focus On Pivotal Roles

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The Strategic Power of Focusing on What Matters Most

Too many organizations spread their talent efforts across all roles equally, missing the opportunity for transformational impact. In this episode, co-hosts Jackson Lynch and Scott Morris explore how HR leaders can exercise strategic influence by guiding organizations to identify pivotal roles – the 2-10% of positions with outsized business impact where having someone great versus good makes the biggest difference to organizational success. Using John Boudreau’s framework and Disney’s street sweeper example, they demonstrate how HR can lead the charge in concentrating resources where they matter most rather than spreading investments equally. Jackson and Scott discuss how pivotal roles aren’t necessarily the most senior positions but rather those with the greatest leverage on business strategy. They emphasize that this approach requires HR to define “A-players” clearly, create succession plans, and courageously advocate for treating top talent differently – even when it challenges traditional notions of fairness in favor of meritocracy and business results.

Three Key Takeaways

• Pivotal roles have disproportionate business impact – These are positions where having someone great versus good makes the biggest difference to organizational success, like Disney’s street sweepers who serve as first points of contact and experience managers rather than the costumed characters.
• Focus resources on the 2-10% that matter most – Instead of spreading talent investments equally across all roles, organizations should overinvest in hiring, selection, training, compensation, and development for pivotal positions while maintaining adequate performance in other areas.
• “A-players” must be defined by outcomes, not activities – Top performers are those in the top quartile who deliver consistent results, make others around them great, and achieve the 3-5 most critical outcomes for their role – potential alone doesn’t qualify someone as an “A-player,” nor does performing important tasks.

Practical Advice

The Three-Step Implementation Framework:

1. Start Small and Act – Find a small-scale example where you can successfully align compensation, talent pipeline, and development strategies around one clearly pivotal role. Build a working example before trying to scale the approach.
2. Define and Build Coalition – Create clear definitions of what makes a role pivotal and what constitutes an “A-player.” Use these definitions as anchors for productive debates about business strategy and role importance. The argument itself reveals understanding of business priorities.
3. Focus on Areas of Agreement – You may face broad disagreement on the top 10% of roles, but start with the positions where there’s consensus. Develop the right hiring, recruiting, onboarding, compensation, and development strategies for these roles first.

Key Questions to Ask: Look at business strategy through a talent lens and ask “What needs to be true for our strategy to succeed?” and “Where would a supply/demand shock for talent materially impact our business?” These questions help identify roles with true leverage.

Remember: The goal isn’t fairness in resource allocation – it’s meritocracy based on business impact. Make the criteria transparent so everyone can understand how to become an “A-player,” but concentrate investments where they drive the most organizational value.

Want More?

1. Talent: Making People Your Competitive Advantage by John Boudreau – The foundational framework for understanding pivotal roles and how strategic talent investments create sustainable competitive advantages
2. The War for Talent is Over: Here’s How to Win at Talent – Harvard Business Review analysis of how leading companies are shifting from broad talent strategies to focused investments in roles that drive disproportionate business value (Harvard Business Review, July 2023)
3. Strategic Workforce Planning: The Key to Business Agility – McKinsey insights on identifying critical roles and building targeted talent strategies that align with business priorities and market dynamics (McKinsey & Company, January 2024)

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