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Rebecca Knight
June 30, 2017
Managing your star performers should be no sweat, right? After all, they re
delivering results and exceeding targets. But don t think you can just get out
of their way and let them excel. They require just as much attention as
everyone else. How do you manage someone who is knocking it out of the park?
How do you keep stars excited about their work? And what risks should you watch
out for?
What the Experts Say
Having a supremely talented employee on your team is a boss s dream. But it can
be a real challenge, too, according to Linda Hill, professor at Harvard
Business School and coauthor of Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming
a Great Leader. You need to make sure your star has enough on her plate to stay
fully engaged but not so much that she gets burned out. And you need to
offer positive feedback but not in ways that are counterproductive to the
person s growth and development. Group dynamics are another concern when you
have a standout performer on your team, says Mary Shapiro, who teaches
organizational behavior at Simmons College and wrote the HBR Guide to Leading
Teams. Real resentment can build, due to the perception that the boss is
favoring the rock star, she says. Whether your star performer has just joined
your team or has been working for you for a while, here are some tips on how to
manage her.
Think about development
One of the hardest things about managing a supremely competent and confident
employee is making sure he s sufficiently challenged in the job. The antidote
to this problem is classic talent development, Shapiro says. First, ask your
employee, Where do you want to go next, and what experiences do I need to give
you to make sure you get there? Then, find opportunities to help the person
acquire new skills and sharpen old ones. Hill recommends that you help the
employee get exposure to other parts of the organization that will broaden
his perspective. And, of course, don t neglect the B players, Hill adds.
Otherwise, you re not building the capacity of the team, and over time, people
become de-skilled. Everyone on your team deserves to be developed.
Offer autonomy
Another way to ensure your star employee stays engaged and excited about coming
to work is to give her more autonomy, Shapiro says. Demonstrate trust by
delegating authority and responsibility over certain projects and tasks. And
don t micromanage. Give her discretion in how she does the work. If a formal
promotion is not possible, or your employee is not quite ready for one, think
creatively about ways to sharpen her leadership skills. Give her training
responsibilities, she adds. Ask your rock star to work with other people on
the team to mentor them and develop them.
Don t go overboard with positive feedback
Generally speaking, stars tend to be very needy and require more praise and
reassurance than your average employee, Hill says. But you don t want to get
into the habit of feeding an ego. She recommends giving your stars the
appropriate amount of feedback by acknowledging their contributions. If your
star executed a project beautifully or made a stellar presentation, say so. But
you needn t go overboard. Help him learn to monitor himself, she says, and
to acknowledge the contributions of other members of the team who are helping
him be successful. Shapiro agrees, noting that some stars don t expect or want
constant praise. Don t assume you know what motivates them.
Manage your star s workload and everybody else s
An important part of your job as a boss is making sure the work is divided
fairly. This can be a challenge when you re managing someone who is head and
shoulders above everyone else. You want to give [all] the tasks to the rock
star, because you know the rock star will get the job done, Shapiro says. But
while it s convenient for you, overwork will lead to burnout. To keep that
from happening, she recommends doing a careful analysis of what s on [your
star s] plate to identify tasks and projects that can be removed to make
capacity for other projects. It s likely that your rock star will be
reluctant to let anything go, but you must hold firm. Be explicit and say
that you want to give her more bandwidth so that she has the brainpower,
energy, and time to be at her best. And beware of team burnout, Hill says.
Superstars are known as pacesetters, she says. It can be exciting and
inspiring for other people to work with them, but often others can t keep up.
You need to make sure the workload is reasonable for everyone.
Be mindful of group dynamics
Superstars can generate team tension. Perhaps they expect performance equal to
theirs from others, or peers are jealous of their abilities and treat them
differently than everyone else. You can t control others emotions, but you do
have a say in the way they act. First, and most important, don t play
favorites, Hill says. Next, talk to your team members about group dynamics and
their individual behavior. Your goal is to make sure they re treating [the
star] appropriately. Shapiro agrees: You need to have one-on-one
conversations with everyone. Ask, What motivates you and how can I help?
Encourage your star to build relationships
You ll need to talk to your star, too. Many high performers have trouble
developing trusting relationships, Hill says. They re quick studies, so they
don t ask questions and don t try to build bridges mostly because they don t
have to. It s your job to encourage them to network and to help them develop
their capacity to engage with others and learn the power of collaboration.
Explain that to contribute to organizations today, you need to be able to work
with other people in different functions. Then be a partner in helping the
person integrate with the group. Demonstrate how his work benefits from other
points of view. And use role-play to teach him how to successfully work with
peers.
Don t be selfish
No one wants to lose a superstar employee, but when you re dealing with someone
who s very competent and capable, it may be a signal that she s ready for
more than you can offer in a particular role, Shapiro says. Don t lose her to
another company, though. Consider the priorities of your entire organization
and whether there s a fit for her outside of your team. Be prepared to fight
battles on two fronts, Shapiro adds. Talk to your boss about finding your
star a position in the company so that she moves up, while also making sure she
s replaced with someone who will succeed in the role. It s a common
trade-off and management dilemma, adds Hill. But you can t hoard talent.
Principles to Remember
Do:
Offer praise and reassurance, but also encourage your star to acknowledge the
contributions of others.
Demonstrate trust by delegating responsibility over certain projects and
letting your star decide how she does the work.
Make sure the team s workload is reasonable. Superstars are pacesetters and not
everyone can keep up.
Don t:
Overload your star employee otherwise you risk burning him out. Analyze what
s on his plate and identify which projects can be removed.
Neglect the rest of your team. Find ways to develop each of your direct
reports.
Hoard talent. If your employee is ready to advance, you must advocate for her
promotion.
Case Study #1: Encourage your star to seek out learning opportunities both
inside and outside your organization
Jon Stein, the CEO and founder of Betterment, the online financial adviser,
says that he s been lucky to have a number of stars on his team over the
years.
Laura*, in particular, stands out. She joined the New York City based company
as an executive assistant five years ago. She lacked experience but she showed
a lot of promise and drive, Jon recalls.
During their weekly meetings, Jon gave Laura positive feedback on the things
she had done well but also made sure to talk about areas where she could
improve.
The two often discussed different ways for her to take on more. It wasn t
always easy to find new challenges for her, he says. We would set the bar
ever higher with stretch goals, and it would soon become clear she could
deliver.
So Jon encouraged Laura to think about her long-term prospects, painting
multiple potential career paths for her: One day she might manage learning and
development at the company, or maybe she could lead the facilities group. He
then directed her to experiences that would prepare her for each of these
possible roles. I wanted to give Laura the opportunity to try new things, he
says.
At the same time, Jon coached Laura on networking. He encouraged her to build
a solid peer group of more experienced people outside of the company to
accelerate her learning. Now, whenever she has a question, she can find an
answer relatively quickly. People come to her with questions, too. She has done
a lot to lead and expand her network.
Giving Laura more responsibility for various corporate functions was gradual,
Jon says.
Today Laura manages a team of 15 employees and has responsibility over
facilities and human resources, among other areas. She s done a great job,
Jon says.
And yet he says he is always mindful about not giving Laura special treatment.
Weekly one-on-one meetings between managers and direct reports are standard
practice at the company. And regular employee feedback is part of the
Betterment culture. I don t play favorites, he says. I don t want to give
her opportunities that others don t get.
Case Study # 2: Find out what motivates your star, and empower her to advance
Jay Schaufeld, senior vice president of human resources at ownerIQ, the
Boston-based digital marketing company, says that managing star performers is a
great luxury but comes with some added challenges too. There is no
playbook, he says.
A few years ago Jay ran the HR department of an independent boutique
consultancy. There, he supervised Rose*, an absolute rock star who excelled
at her job. She was a few years out of school; she had high aspirations and
was high potential, Jay recalls. I saw a lot of her in me and me in her.
When Rose first started working for him, Jay did everything he could to
publicly recognize her accomplishments and include her in executive-level
meetings. I loosely assumed that Rose wanted a lot of fanfare and exposure to
the leadership team, he says.
It wasn t until he finally asked her What motivates you? that he realized the
error of his ways. Rose told me that while she appreciated it, all the
meetings were killing her, he says. What she wanted instead was air cover to
be more involved in corporate initiatives that moved the organization forward.
Together, they brainstormed possible projects for Rose. He then gave her the
autonomy to implement those plans.
Jay also inquired about Rose s professional goals for the future. Internal
advancement was very important to her, so we established career goals and
milestones at the organization, he says. We also talked about other paths.
One possible option for Rose was to become a certified HR professional. The
certification would allow her to work as a billable consultant as opposed to
working in corporate HR.
Selfishly, I wanted Rose to stay in our organization, says Jay. But I also
recognized that gaining the certification would open up new career
opportunities for her. I wanted to demonstrate that we were investing in her
and that I was committed to her advancement. That was important for her to see.
After a Fortune 10 company acquired their organization, Jay moved on. Rose, who
now has the certification, is still there, working on the integration. I would
absolutely love to work with her again in the future, he says.
Rebecca Knight is a freelance journalist in Boston and a lecturer at Wesleyan
University. Her work has been published in The New York Times, USA Today, and
The Financial Times.