An organization’s workers are its most reliable resource for generating excellent results year after year; their judgments, experiences and capabilities make the difference between success and failure.

When Reginald Jones — a cerebral, well-spoken person — selected Jack Welch — a blunt, irreverent, from-the-gut leader — to replace him as CEO of General Electric, many questioned the move. Jones, however, knew GE had to change, and that Welch possessed the right kind of personality and professional approach to get the job done. Jones broke free of the comfort factor, to the benefit of the company and its shareholders.

Yet, the same leaders who exclaim that “people are our most important asset” usually do not think very hard about choosing the right people for the right jobs. Typically this is because they’re thinking too much about how to make their companies bigger or better positioned globally. Over time, however, it’s choosing the right people that creates competitive advantage.

Why, then, are the right people not in the right jobs? Here are some of the reasons — and what you can do about them:

● Lack of knowledge. Leaders often rely on sometimes fuzzy or prejudiced staff appraisals when placing people into positions. They should, instead, define the job in terms of its three or four nonnegotiable criteria — things the person must be able to do to succeed.

● Lack of courage. There are innumerable cases of the wrong person being kept in the wrong job, simply because the person’s leader doesn’t have the emotional fortitude to take decisive action, confront the person, and make a change. Such failures do considerable damage to a business; indeed, if the non-performer is high enough in the organization, he or she can be particularly destructive.

● The psychological comfort factor. Many jobs are filled with the wrong people because the leaders who promote them are comfortable with them, and the employees are loyal to those leaders. However, if that loyalty is based on the wrong factors (social reasons, rather than professional, etc.), it could be damaging. Often, breaking free of this comfort factor is exactly what a leader must do to bring about change.

 By Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan