Skill will matrix
Place each person by their skill and will for a task, and see whether to direct, guide, excite, or delegate.How the skill will matrix works
The skill will matrix is a coaching model from Max Landsberg's book The Tao of Coaching. It asks two questions about one person and one task: can they do it, and do they want to? The answers place them in one of four quadrants, and each quadrant calls for a different way of managing them.
Skill
Skill is the ability to do the task well. To judge it, look at:
- Their experience of this task, or of similar ones
- Their training and knowledge
- Natural aptitude
- The quality of their recent work on it
Will
Will is the desire to do the task well. It is harder to judge than skill, and it is shaped by:
- Their drive to achieve
- The incentives attached to the task
- How secure they feel in their role
- Confidence in their own ability
- How they feel about the task itself
The four quadrants of the skill will matrix
Direct: low skill, low will
Someone who is new to a task and unenthusiastic about it needs structure. Set clear goals and deadlines, explain why the task matters, and check in often. Look for early wins and recognise them, because early success tends to lift will as well as skill. Loosen the structure as both improve.
Guide: low skill, high will
The keen beginner. The motivation is already there, so the job is to build capability before it fades. Teach, coach, give them room to practise, and treat mistakes as part of learning. Too much control at this stage dampens the enthusiasm you are relying on.
Excite: high skill, low will
Capable but disengaged. Telling them how to do the task wastes their time and yours. Instead, find out what is holding them back, whether that is boredom, a grievance, a lack of recognition, or something outside work, and connect the task to what does motivate them.
Delegate: high skill, high will
Hand over the task and the decisions that go with it. Stretch them with responsibility, stay available as a sounding board, and resist the urge to check up on them. Leaving this group to get on with it unnoticed is a common way to lose your best people.
How to use the skill will matrix
- Pick a task, not a person. Someone can be ready to take over client reporting and still need close direction on budgeting
- Place each person for that task, using evidence from their recent work rather than a general impression
- Read off the style for their quadrant, and plan your next conversation with them around it
- Talk it through with them. Their view of their own skill and will often differs from yours, and the difference is worth knowing
- Revisit it. Skill changes over months, but will can change in a week
In the tool above, name each person with their task, for example 'Sam: client reporting', so the same person can appear more than once. Your map stays in your browser: nothing is sent to us or stored on our side. Download it as a PDF to take into a one-to-one, or copy a share link.
Where the skill will matrix falls short
The matrix is a starting point for a conversation, not a verdict on a person. Keep three cautions in mind:
- Low will is rarely laziness. It more often signals low confidence, burnout, an unclear purpose, or a role that no longer fits, and each of those needs a different response
- Will changes faster than skill, so a placement that was right a month ago may be wrong now
- It is easy to use as a label. Telling someone they sit in the low will quadrant rarely raises their will
For worked examples, and the mistakes managers most often make when they first put it to use, read the skill will matrix in practice.
Where the skill will matrix comes from
Landsberg built the matrix on Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard's situational leadership model, which matches a leader's style to a person's ability and willingness. The skill will matrix keeps that idea and makes it quick to apply to a single task.
The same choices sit at the heart of Crew, our team leadership simulation, which puts you in the shoes of a working team leader who has to delegate, develop, and support their team while doing their own share of the work. To see how your own team rates your leadership, try the team leader check, or browse our other free learning tools.
Skill will matrix questions
What is the difference between skill and will?
Skill is whether someone can do a task well: their experience, training, knowledge, and aptitude. Will is whether they want to: their drive, incentives, confidence, and feelings about the task. Skill usually builds slowly, while will can rise or fall quickly.
Who created the skill will matrix?
Max Landsberg set it out in his book The Tao of Coaching. It draws on the situational leadership model developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard.
Is the skill will matrix the same as situational leadership?
They are closely related. Situational leadership matches a leader's style to a person's ability and willingness. The skill will matrix applies the same idea through two questions and four quadrants: direct, guide, excite, and delegate.
Can someone be in more than one quadrant?
Yes. The matrix describes a person on a particular task, so the same person can sit in a different quadrant for each part of their job. Placing people task by task is what makes the matrix useful rather than a label.
Is there a free skill will matrix template?
The tool on this page is one. Add your people, place them on the grid, and download the result as a PDF or as a picture you can upload again later. There is no registration, and nothing you enter leaves your browser.