How To Manage B Players

Leaders often chase A players, but the real stability comes from B players who consistently deliver without needing the spotlight. The article shows that B players are the glue that holds teams together during crises and everyday work. It explains why the traditional promotion ladder pushes many talented contributors into roles where they lose impact, and how B players avoid that trap by staying in positions where they excel. The piece cites the Peter Principle and the cost of promoting engineers into managers who lack interest or skill for the role. Three practical steps are offered: give B players explicit permission to act, create parallel career tracks that reward deep expertise instead of people-management, and recognize their contributions loudly and frequently. Applying these tactics helps technical leaders retain high-quality contributors, reduce turnover, and build teams that perform reliably over the long term.