Get It, Want It, Capacity: A Simple Tool for Smarter Talent Decisions

If you’ve ever struggled with the nagging question, “Is this person the right fit for this role?”, you’re not alone. Leaders everywhere wrestle with how to assess whether team members truly belong in their seats. That’s where the Get It, Want It, Capacity (GWC) framework comes in.

This deceptively simple tool provides a clear, structured way to evaluate whether someone is set up for success—or whether they might be mismatched. Let’s break it down:

1. Get It

Getting it is about understanding the role.
Does the person have the insight, intuition, and natural grasp of what the job requires? Do they understand the responsibilities, the workflows, and how the role connects to the bigger picture of the organization?

Think of this as mental clarity and comprehension. If someone “gets it,” they don’t constantly need to be reminded or micromanaged. They know what good looks like and can see the hidden dynamics of the role.

2. Want It

This is about desire and motivation.
Does the person genuinely want the seat they’re in? Passion, drive, and energy matter. If the fire isn’t there, no amount of skills or capacity will sustain long-term performance.

3. Capacity to Do It

Capacity is different from “get it.” Where “get it” is about understanding, capacity is about having the actual resources and ability to deliver.

Capacity means the skills, time, tools, and even the physical, emotional, and mental bandwidth required to perform. For example:

In short:

Why This Tool Helps

The brilliance of GWC is its simplicity. Instead of letting gut feel or office politics dictate decisions, leaders can ask three clear questions:

I like to answer each of these questions three ways: (+), (=), (-). The plus sign is an enthusiastic yes. The equals sign means they are good enough, but not ideal. The minus means the answer is "no" when you ask the question.

If the answer is “no” to any one of these, you’ve found the source of performance struggles. The tool helps in three ways:

Tough calls: When someone doesn’t want it—or never truly gets it—you can make dismissal decisions with clarity and fairness.

Succession planning: Identifying who is ready now, and who needs more development.

Internal development: Targeting training or coaching where capacity gaps exist.

Final Thought

Leadership often feels messy and subjective. The GWC framework cuts through the noise, giving you a simple, visual way to align people with roles. When you can clearly see the difference between “get it” and “capacity,” your decisions become sharper, your team becomes stronger, and your organization moves forward with confidence.

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Adam Kreek is on a mission to positively impact organizational cultures and leaders who make things happen.

Kreek is an Executive Business Coach who lives in Victoria, BC, near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Seattle, Washington, USA, in the Pacific Northwest. He works with clients globally, often travelling to California in the San Francisco Bay Area, Atlanta, Georgia, Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec. He is an Olympic Gold Medalist, a storied adventurer and a father.

He authored the bestselling business book, The Responsibility Ethic: 12 Strategies Exceptional People Use to Do the Work and Make Success Happen. 

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