Leading Fast Trackers

In every team or organization, you have those one or two young talents who come in on fire and seem like they can do no wrong. They take on all challenges and thrive beyond expectations. As leaders we feel like we won the lottery. In the SEALS we called those talents Fast Trackers, in sport they are Four- or Five-Star athletes who surpass your wildest dreams.

The challenge as a leader is to not become so mesmerized by their talents that you let their individual and team infractions go unchecked. When the Fast Trackers are performing at such a high level that it directly leads to game success or effects the organization in a positive way, they tend to build a personal credit against disciplinary measures. When those same people falter and miss a meeting or maybe get in a little trouble away from the organization, too often as leaders we will let those minor violations go unchecked, because that was “insert name” my superstar. Sure, we might ask them what happened, and remind them that we expect more from them. But are we taking it one step further to find out the “why”?

In the SEALS another saying was, “You can have 100 ‘that-a-boys’ to your credit, but they could all be erased with 1 “oh-shit”. When I think back to some of the career-ending “oh-shit” moments committed by some super talented Fast Trackers, I can also recall a number of smaller infractions made prior that were glossed over and not addressed because leaders viewed them as insignificant. The assumption was that these young super talents would recover from the smaller missteps because they’ve proved themselves extremely capable in other ways. The truth is they needed to be developed just like every young professional on our team.

In the absence of vital disciplinary teaching moments, the Fast Trackers often increased their risky behavior off the job, why, because at some point they viewed themselves as indestructible and bigger than the organization they represented. Then it happens, “oh-shit”. Should we as leaders be surprised? More than a handful of SEAL officers had their careers derailed because they let their Fast Trackers have the benefit of the doubt. As for some of those Fast Trackers, their ultimate “oh-shit” moments resulted in removal from the SEAL Teams, and in some extreme cases, it, unfortunately, resulted in death. Remember, these were great guys! They just weren’t held accountable for their small mistakes which could have been fantastic leader development moments.

Take account of how you treat your best talents and ensure, for their sake and your own, that they benefit from the discipline needed to address even the smallest of team or organizational rules. As leaders, be careful not to be blinded by the talent of your Fast Trackers.

“Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.” General Colin Powell