This guide walks admins through everything needed to configure, manage, and monitor 9-Box Assessments in Leadr — from initial setup to reviewing published results.
⚠ Note: 9-Box must be enabled by your Leadr Customer Success Manager before it appears in your account. Additional fees may apply. Contact your CSM to get started.
What Is a 9-Box Assessment?
The 9-Box model is a 3x3 grid that helps managers evaluate each team member across two dimensions: current performance and future potential. The result highlights who is thriving, who is ready to grow, and who may need additional support.
In Leadr, the 9-Box is designed to be coaching-first — every segment placement requires documented evidence, and the process includes a collaborative calibration step to ensure fairness and consistency across your organization.
How the Process Works
Every assessment in Leadr moves through three stages:
1. Create Assessment
Manager selects a segment and provides evidence supporting their rating.
2. Calibration
Leaders review, discuss, and approve or adjust the segment assignment.
3. Published
Final result is visible to all upline managers and admins. History is preserved.
Visibility tip: Assessments are visible only to managers upline from the employee and to admins. An employee can never view their own assessment.
Permissions Overview
Understanding who can do what is important before you configure the tool. Here is a summary of 9-Box permissions by role:
Role | Create Assessments For | View Assessments For |
Admin | Any employee (except themselves) | Any employee (except themselves) |
Executive / Manager | Direct downline only | Direct downline only |
Employee | Cannot create assessments | Cannot view own assessment |
⚠ Note: No user can ever create or view their own assessment — this applies to admins as well.
Configuring 9-Box Settings
Before managers start running assessments, you should configure the 9-Box grid to reflect your organization's language and expectations. All settings are accessible by admins only.
Where to Find Settings
1. Log in to Leadr as an admin.
2. Navigate to People in the left-hand navigation.
3. Select Talent Management tab
4. Hit the 3 buttons in the upper right corner to open 'Segment settings'
Granting Admin Permissions
Within the 'Segment Settings' option in the upper right hand corner, you can select '9-box Permissions', allowing you to choose between granting complete access to All org admins (default) or Limit to Selected Admins. If selected, you can select each individual.
Limit to Selected Admins is most commonly used to exclude non-HR admins, similar to a Review Cycle.
Admins who are removed from 9-box access will still see 9-box based on their role--managers see their downline, ICs wouldn't have access, etc.
Customizing Axis Labels
The two axes of the grid can be relabeled to match your organization's terminology. The defaults are Performance (x-axis) and Potential (y-axis), but you can rename these to whatever language your team uses.
Step 1: Open the Axis Labels section in 9-Box Settings.
Step 2: Click the edit icon next to the axis you want to rename.
Step 3: Enter your preferred label and save.
Customizing Segment Labels
Each of the nine cells in the grid has a default label (e.g., Star, Rising Star, Core Contributor). You can rename any segment to match your internal language.
Step 1: In 9-Box Settings, click into the grid box you want to edit.
Step 2: Enter your preferred name and save.
Customizing Segment Descriptions
Segment descriptions are the most important part of your configuration. They serve as the rubric managers reference when assessing an employee. Well-written descriptions create alignment across your organization about what it actually means to be placed in a given segment.
Tip: Each description should clearly outline the qualities, traits, behaviors, and achievements an employee must demonstrate to fit that segment. The more specific you are, the more consistent and fair your assessments will be.
Step 1: In 9-Box Settings, click on any segment to open its description editor.
Step 2: Write or paste your description in the text field.
Step 3: Save your changes. Repeat for each segment.
Tips for writing strong segment descriptions:
• Be specific about behaviors, not just outcomes (e.g., 'proactively identifies blockers for the team' rather than 'performs well').
• Include what future potential looks like — is the employee seeking growth? Taking on stretch work? Demonstrating leadership behaviors?
• Keep descriptions parallel in structure across segments so managers can easily compare them.
Viewing Assessment Results
Once assessments are published, admins and upline leaders can see them in the Company View tab. This is the primary place to monitor your team's talent landscape.
Company View Tab
The Company View shows the most recently published assessment for each employee. This gives you a real-time snapshot of how talent is distributed across the organization.
Step 1: Navigate to 9-Box Assessments in the main navigation.
Step 2: Select the Company View tab.
Step 3: Each employee is shown with their current segment placement.
Viewing an Individual Employee's History
Clicking on any employee in the Company View opens a history of all their assessments over time, not just the most recent. This is useful for tracking development progress and spotting trends.
Step 1: From Company View, click on the employee's name or card.
Step 2: A panel or detail view opens showing all past assessments.
Step 3: Review previous segment placements, evidence notes, and calibration history.
Tip: An alert will appear next to employees who have not had a published assessment in the last 12 months. Use this to identify gaps in your assessment coverage.
Managing the Calibration Process
Calibration is the review step between a submitted assessment and a published result. Its purpose is to ensure alignment across your organization — removing biases and confirming that segment placements reflect shared standards, not just one manager's perspective.
Who Is Involved in Calibration?
Calibration is typically done in a group setting with HR admins, relevant executives, and managers. Anyone with admin or upline manager access to the employee can participate.
• HR admins and executives can review, comment, add evidence, and approve assessments.
• The assigned segment can be adjusted during calibration if the group agrees a change is warranted.
• Multiple reviewers can add additional evidence to either support or override the original placement.
Reviewing and Approving an Assessment in Calibration
Step 1: Navigate to 9-Box Assessments and open the Calibration queue (also labeled 'Ready for Review').
Step 2: Select the assessment you want to review.
Step 3: Read the original segment selection and the manager's evidence.
Step 4: Add any additional evidence or notes in the evidence field if needed.
Step 5: If the segment needs to change, select the correct segment from the grid.
Step 6: When the group is aligned, click Approve (or Publish) to move the assessment to Published status.
Tip: Calibration sessions are most effective when run as a group meeting. Pull up the assessment on a shared screen, walk through the evidence together, and reach a decision collaboratively before clicking Approve.
Managing Published Assessments
Once an assessment is published, admins and executives retain control over it. You can un-publish, edit, or delete assessments when needed.
Un-Publishing an Assessment
Un-publishing moves an assessment back to Ready for Review status. Use this if new information emerges after publication or if calibration needs to be revisited.
Step 1: Open the published assessment from the Company View or employee history.
Step 2: Click the Un-publish button (available to admins and executives only).
Step 3: The assessment returns to Calibration / Ready for Review status.
Deleting an Assessment
Deleting an assessment removes it entirely from the system. This action cannot be undone.
Tip: Only delete an assessment if it was created in error or is no longer relevant. Deleting removes the historical record permanently.
Step 1: Open the assessment you want to delete.
Step 2: Click Delete. You will be prompted to confirm.
Step 3: Confirm the deletion. The assessment is permanently removed.
Alerts and Recommended Practices
System Alerts to Watch For
• New employee alert: An alert is shown when a manager attempts to assess an employee who has been with the organization for fewer than 6 months. Assessment is still permitted, but the alert is a reminder that limited tenure may affect the quality of the assessment.
• Overdue assessment alert: Employees who have not had a published assessment in the last 12 months are flagged in the Company View. Use this to prompt managers to run assessments for their team.
Best Practices for Admins
• Set up segment descriptions before launching assessments. Managers cannot do high-quality assessments without a clear rubric.
• Run a calibration training session before your first cycle. Walk managers through the grid, the segments, and what evidence looks like.
• Schedule calibration sessions on a regular cadence — quarterly or semi-annually works well for most organizations.
• Use the Company View to identify distribution imbalances (e.g., too many employees in the same segment may indicate calibration drift).
• Remind managers of the 12-month window so no employee goes too long without an updated assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an employee see their own 9-Box placement?
No. Employees cannot view their own assessment at any time. Published assessments are visible only to upline managers and admins.
Can a manager assess someone who doesn't report to them?
Managers and executives can only create and view assessments for employees in their direct downline. Admins can create and view assessments for any employee in the organization, except themselves.
What happens if two managers both create a draft for the same employee?
Each assessor can have one open draft per employee at a time. Multiple users can have separate drafts for the same employee simultaneously — they do not conflict with each other.
Can I disable the 9-Box feature for our organization?
Yes. The feature can be disabled entirely by contacting your Leadr Customer Success Manager, who can turn it off in the backend system.
Can we use our own segment names instead of the defaults?
Yes. Axis labels, segment labels, and segment descriptions can all be fully customized in the admin settings. See the Configuring 9-Box Settings section of this guide.
Can we filter the employee list?
Yes, you can filter the 9-box employee list by Segment, Department, and Manager. Selecting a manager shows that manager plus their entire downline. Admins can see all managers, while others can only see the managers in their own downline. Filtering by manager is helpful for calibration sessions where you are only focusing on one part of the organization.