What Actually Makes Someone an A Player?

Straight to the Point

• The traditional definition of an A player — top 10% available for a role — is a starting point, not the full picture
• A players are the best cultural fit and productivity fit for your business, at your expectations and budget
• A C player somewhere else can be an A player on your team — and vice versa
• Five C players don’t equal one A player — and that’s probably underselling it
• You can build a full team of A players. It’s not a curve. It’s a standard.

I was in a planning session recently talking about A players with a leadership team. Great conversation. Everyone wants A players — especially on the executive team.

So what’s an A player?

The traditional definition, from Topgrading and most of the major frameworks, is simple: the top 10% of available talent for a given role. Straightforward enough.

But over the years I’ve noticed something. That definition needs an upgrade.

What an A Player Actually Means

The best working definition I’ve landed on: an A player is someone who is an excellent cultural fit for your business and an excellent productivity fit for your expectations — within your budget.

Notice what’s in there. Your business. Your expectations. Your budget.

Not some abstract universal standard. Not the person who will sacrifice everything for the job. Not the top decile of humanity.

That matters because an A player in one business is not automatically an A player in another. Different cultures, different expectations, different roles. And a C player somewhere else? Might be exactly the right person for what you’re building.

The Exercise That Still Haunts Me

Years ago I sat in on a planning session run by a different coach. He led an exercise defining A players as the top 10% globally — hyper-accountable, works days and nights, fully committed, problems solved at any cost.

Then he asked the leadership team to evaluate themselves against that criteria.

Nobody made the cut.

I watched the energy drain out of that room in real time. If your definition of an A player means your entire leadership team falls short — you don’t have a people problem. You have a definition problem.

And honestly? That definition isn’t building a great business. It’s building an exploitative one.

Can You Build a Team of All A Players?

Yes. Absolutely.

A players don’t exist on a curve. You’re not forced to have a bottom 10% — that’s not how this works. The more A players you stack, the stronger the team gets. There’s no law of nature that says some people have to be C players on your team just because they’re C players somewhere else.

Hire for A players every time. Keep stacking the deck.

What’s the Productivity Difference Between an A Player and a C Player?

There’s a formula I came across once that I’ve never forgotten: five C players equals less than one A player.

When you factor in productivity, missed opportunities, lack of autonomy, and cultural drag — five feels like a low number to me. I’d take one or two A players over five to ten C players getting in the way any day of the week.

A players make the people around them better. C players do the opposite. That gap compounds fast.

Does Every Leader on the Executive Team Need to Be an A Player?

Philosophically, yes. In reality, it rarely looks that clean.

What you usually end up with is a mix — some genuine A players, some strong B+ players, some solid Bs. That’s okay. You’re always hiring for A players, and you’re always developing the people you have.

What you cannot have is a C player on your executive team. Full stop.

A C player at the executive level doesn’t just underperform — they set the bar for everyone below them. They signal what’s acceptable. Your A players notice. Some will lower their standards to match. Others will leave.

Protect the standard. Especially at the top.

What to Actually Look For

When you’re assessing your team — or hiring — three questions:

Are they a genuine cultural fit? Do they live the values, not just agree with them in an interview?

Are they hitting the expectations of the role? Not some theoretical ceiling — your expectations, clearly defined.

Are they the right person for this business at this stage?

Yes to all three — that’s your A player. Doesn’t matter where they’d rank somewhere else.