Are “A players” real?

A+ in green, turned 20 degrees counterclockwise

Are "A players" a real thing?

I saw a post this morning on LinkedIn that struck a nerve. It said something like "A players will never have the 'Open to Work' badge on." Kudos to whoever wrote it. I'm sure eliciting a reaction is good for the algorithm.

I have been learning to be more present with how I feel in therapy (yes, I do that). I took this as an opportunity to ask myself, "why did I have this reaction?" I found that my reaction evolved from a mixture of insecurity and righteous indignation.

It feels strange to admit to any insecurity on LinkedIn, but here I am, doing scary things. There are times as an independent consultant where I have not had work. Does that make me a "B player?" I have clients who have repeatedly hired me and have referred my work, saying I'm an A player. However, if I'm being completely honest with myself, there is someone out there who thinks I'm a B player. The "player type" perception of people is situational, and the player only controls a portion of the variables. If someone does not value the type of work I do, I will always be a B player to them.

This "player type" perception stems from the human compulsion to classify and label. It is necessary for simplifying the world for our brains. However, classification can often bulldoze nuance and work against us. We are likely writing off good people because we don't perceive the value in the work they do. We also write off the structural and environmental factors that are needed to support A player type work.

I believe in recognizing great people doing great work, so my suggestion here is not ignore your feeling about a person. It is the opposite actually. If someone is doing well, recognize that AND ask, "what else can I do for the team to help everyone reach a higher level of performance?" Something as simple as recognizing someone the times they do exceptionally well or offering a flexible work arrangement may increase your number of A players.

If the answer yields things that cost money, like on-site childcare or paid leave for people to take care of family members, I wouldn't write it off so quickly. I often see organizations feeling like the grass is always greener and working to recruit "higher talent." They already have people who have "said yes" to their organizations and missions. Instead of recruiting someone new, can they give someone accommodations that help their existing team members become the A players they are looking for?

I also encourage everyone to ask themselves "what biases do I have that may overlook A players or potential A players?" and reflect on the answer. If someone values the sales team but not the operations team or the marketing team, they may have to remind themselves that without operations and marketing, the business does not generate leads or bring in revenue.

So, are "A players" a thing? Probably. But also, how can we support more people to bring their best selves to work? How do we not overlook potential “A players”?