The 6 Boxes of Performance: A Systemic Fix for Broken Hiring
The Six Boxes Model proves that 75% of performance problems stem from the environment—not the person. Hiring authorities who want better teams must design systems that clarify expectations, provide tools, and create accountability. That’s how you build performance from the ground up.
TJ Kastning
Most leaders assume hiring mistakes are due to a bad interview, a poor fit, or a candidate who just didn’t work out. But what if the real problem isn’t who you hired, but how your hiring system is set up?
Enter the Six Boxes Model by Thomas F. Gilbert—a deceptively simple tool that reframes performance as a systems problem, not a people problem. It’s one of the most overlooked leadership frameworks in construction today.
And if you’re a hiring authority frustrated by poor team performance or unpredictable hiring outcomes, this model is a game-changer.
🧱 The Foundation: Gilbert’s Six Boxes
Gilbert grouped performance factors into two big buckets:
Environmental Factors (75% of performance issues)
- Information – Are expectations and feedback clear?
- Resources – Do people have the tools they need?
- Incentives – Are there consequences or rewards that matter?
Individual Factors (25% of performance issues)
- Knowledge/Skills – Have they been properly trained?
- Capacity – Are they personally capable of doing the work?
- Motivation – Do they care about doing it well?
⚠️ Key Insight: Most underperformance comes from gaps in the environment—yet most leaders instinctively try to “fix the person.” That’s not just ineffective—it’s expensive.
🧬 Why Trust the Six Boxes?
The Man Behind the Model and the Data That Backs It
Thomas F. Gilbert was a behavioral psychologist and performance engineer—often called the father of Human Performance Technology. A protégé of B.F. Skinner, Gilbert applied rigorous behavioral science to practical workplace problems, and in 1978 published Human Competence, a book that reshaped how organizations think about performance.
Gilbert developed the Behavior Engineering Model (now known as the Six Boxes) through:
- Behavioral analysis across industries like education, construction, government, and manufacturing
- Cost-benefit modeling of performance interventions
- Real-world diagnostics, identifying whether underperformance stemmed from system failures or individual gaps
“If you want people to perform, you must engineer the environment in which they perform.” — T.F. Gilbert
The percentages in the model—like Information (35%) and Resources (26%)—aren’t theory. They’re based on decades of applied data showing that environmental fixes have the highest ROI when trying to improve performance.
🏗 What This Means for Hiring Authorities
If you want hiring and team performance to improve, stop treating hiring like a one-off decision and start designing a repeatable system.
Here’s how each box translates to better hiring strategy and execution:
✅ Box 1: Information (35%)
“I would perform better if I had clear expectations, feedback, and access to information.”
- Are interviewers aligned on what “good” looks like?
- Are candidates clear on the role and success path?
- Are feedback loops in place after interviews?
👉 Fix it: Create structured interview strategies tied to role outcomes. Debrief consistently. Equip teams with prep materials and decision frameworks.
🧰 Box 2: Resources (26%)
“I would perform better if I had the right tools.”
- Most interviewers are set up to fail—they’re handed a resume and a calendar invite. No guide. No tools. No context.
👉 Fix it: Use interview guides, feedback forms, and role scorecards. Provide past hiring data or assessment insights to make interviews more rigorous.
💸 Box 3: Incentives (14%)
“I would perform better if the consequences or rewards were real.”
- Hiring well is rarely incentivized. If no one owns the quality of hire, it becomes a shared blind spot.
👉 Fix it: Make hiring quality visible. Celebrate great hires. Discuss bad ones. Build hiring into performance reviews for key managers.
🎓 Box 4: Knowledge (11%)
“I would perform better if I received training.”
- Interviewing is treated like an instinct—but it’s a learned skill. Untrained interviewers default to vague impressions and gut reactions.
👉 Fix it: Train teams on structured interviewing, behavioral questioning, and candidate assessment. Make it a core leadership skill.
🧠 Box 5: Capacity (8%)
“I would perform better if my personal capabilities matched the job.”
- Some team members aren’t suited for interviewing—whether due to bandwidth, communication style, or discomfort with evaluating others.
👉 Fix it: Be selective about who interviews. Don’t overload top performers. Make space for preparation and evaluation.
❤️ Box 6: Motivation (6%)
“I would perform better if I actually cared.”
- Hiring can feel like a chore—or worse, a risk to be avoided. If your team doesn’t see hiring as vital, they’ll treat it like a side task.
👉 Fix it: Connect hiring to mission. Show how the right hire lifts the whole team. Make it a point of pride, not a burden.
🧭 Stop Fixing People. Start Fixing Systems.
Gilbert’s model reminds us: performance is predictable—if you’re willing to look at the full system. The same goes for hiring.
If you keep getting mediocre results, it’s not just about “bad luck” or “people not being what they used to be.” You’ve likely got an environmental setup problem.
And the good news? That’s something you can fix.
👉 Ready to Build a Hiring System That Works?
We help construction leaders take ownership of their hiring—from strategy to execution—so they can build teams that actually work together. No more guesswork. No more gut decisions.
👉 Schedule an Exploratory Hiring Strategy Call
1️⃣ We evaluate
2️⃣ Walk you through our process
3️⃣ Decide together if we’re a fit
