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Part III · Conduct · 3 of 5
14.2

Profiling the RoleH gap, π depth, must-haves, before the JD

With the audit’s output in hand, the role profile comes next, and it comes before any job description exists. T02, the π Profile & Career Map, was built as a practitioner’s self-mapping instrument. It works equally well applied to the role being opened rather than to the self. The discipline is the same: specify the profile first, write the JD against the profile.

The template asks three questions, in order:

  • Question 1: Which H does this role primarily require?: Based on the Team H3 Audit (14.1), which dimension of the team’s collective capacity is most thinly served? That is the H the next hire should primarily deepen. A team thin on Heart needs a Heart-primary role (not a Heart-aware generalist, a practitioner whose primary mode is Heart and whose upstream research discipline is genuinely developed). A team thin on Hand at the downstream end needs a Hand-primary downstream role. A team thin on Head-level strategic translation needs a Head-primary upstream role. “Primary” does not mean exclusive. It means the hire’s strongest mode is chosen to be the one the team currently lacks.
  • Question 2: What π-depth does the role require?: Mostly horizontal bar with emerging craft pull, Senior-ish, early specialisation? Craft deep, IC Lead? Craft deep plus leadership emerging, Design Manager or early Senior Manager? Full π shape at mature depth, Staff archetype (Strategist or Engineer)? Principal? The π-depth determines the seniority band. The seniority band determines what the hire will be measured against. Most teams err on the side of hiring too senior for roles that actually need a strong Senior, or too junior for roles that actually need Lead ownership. The audit output and the role profile together make the correct seniority legible.
  • Question 3: What are the three to five must-have capabilities?: Non-negotiables. Not “nice-to-haves,” not “bonuses,” not “familiarity with.” The capabilities without which the hire cannot do the job the team needs done. Five is the upper bound, more than five and the list becomes aspirational rather than filtering. Three is often enough. Everything not on the must-have list is legitimately a preference, and preferences should be explicitly labelled as such so that interviewers don’t unconsciously over-weight them.