Are We a Fit?

I was sitting across from a client recently. She had just received approval to add a new position to her team, something she had been hoping for all year.

“This is a big deal,” she said.  “I want to get this right. I need someone who can handle the work, but I also need someone who fits into the team dynamic. Someone who doesn’t drain the team. Someone who shows up with the right energy.  They need knowledge, skill, AND the right disposition. I don’t want to spend the next six months managing tension.”

I'm guessing that statement resonates with you as well.  Because whether you're hiring, coaching, or leading from within, what someone brings to a team can’t be measured by ability alone.

The Leadership Three: Knowledge, Skill, and Disposition

These three elements form the foundation of a thriving, functional, and emotionally intelligent team. When one is missing, the ripple effect is immediate.

Let’s break them down.

1. Knowledge: What They Understand

Knowledge is the foundational awareness or understanding of the work. Do they know what the expectations are? Do they understand the process, the why behind the task, or the system they're operating in?

When knowledge is missing, support looks like:

• Providing orientation and context, not just instructions

• Breaking down the "why" behind expectations

• Checking comprehension before assuming resistance

• Offering mentorship, FAQs, or job aids

Self-aware leaders ask: Is this a knowledge gap?

2. Skill: What They Can Do

This is about ability. Can they perform the job? Do they have the hands-on capability to carry out the task?

When skill is missing, support looks like:

• Training, modeling, and practice-based feedback

• Providing tools and opportunities to build confidence

•  Allowing for a learning curve without lowering the bar

• Clarifying what success looks like in action

Self-aware leaders ask: Do they have the tools and experience to carry this out or are they still developing them?

3. Disposition: How They Show Up and Relate to Others

Disposition combines attitude, mindset, willingness, and emotional presence. It shows up in tone, demeanor, receptiveness, ownership, and initiative. Do they take responsibility? Do they step up or hold back? Are they respectful? Do they work collaboratively? Are they coachable, or defensive and disengaged?

When disposition is missing, support looks like:

• Coaching around communication, self-regulation, and impact

• Clarifying expectations for professionalism, initiative, and presence

• Naming how their energy affects the team- positively or not

• Exploring what might be beneath resistance, passivity, or withdrawal

Self-aware leaders ask: Is this a matter of willingness, self-awareness, or misalignment?

Reflection Questions for Leaders

• When someone isn’t meeting expectations, which area do I check first: knowledge, skill, or disposition?

• Where might I be assuming resistance when there is actually a gap in understanding or support?

• How clear am I about the behaviors and energy required to be successful on this team?

• Have I named the impact of someone’s disposition on the team culture or avoided it?

• Am I hiring, coaching, and retaining with all three in mind, or over-weighting skill alone?

Most performance challenges aren’t personal, they’re diagnostic.

When leaders slow down long enough to identify what is missing, they can respond with clarity instead of frustration and support instead of guesswork.

You matter, especially when you take the time to discern what’s really needed and lead with intention.