Empowering High Performers to Reach Their Full Potential
I’ve been fortunate in my career to have managed many high performing teams and individuals. And while it’s easy to assume that managing high performers is significantly less challenging than managing people that are struggling in their roles,
Successfully managing high performers does come with its own unique set of challenges.
The biggest challenge I’ve faced over the years is striking a balance between enabling my team members to stretch and grow by taking ownership of their work and driving it forward while also making sure that I provide the right level of guidance when it is needed without hovering. I’ve found that a few strategies help high performers thrive while also producing positive results for the organization.
- Get to Know Your Team Member
Whenever you start managing a new person, take the time to sit down and get to know them first. Seek to understand their background, what interests them, what motivates them, their short term and long term development goals, etc. After you have the conversation, remember it. Write it down if you need to.
When new opportunities or projects come up, try to assign them out based on your team’s interests and development needs. However, know that you won’t be able to do this every time, and people won’t always get assigned tasks or projects that are interesting to them.
To manage your long term relationships with your team members, be candid when you know an opportunity might not be someone’s favorite. For example, assume you have someone on your team who is very good with Excel, but she is wanting to get more involved with software design. You could say something like, “Look, I know you’re trying to expand your skillset outside of financial modeling, but this is an important opportunity with one of our largest clients and you’re the best person for it. With the new software release coming up, we’re going to need input on the highest value add changes in financial reporting. That should help you get some of the design experience you’re wanting. Once this project is done, we’ll get you started on that.” By doing this, you’re recognizing her strong performance, showing that you’ve listened to her and understand what her development needs and goals are, and committing to an action that will help her get her desired experience, even though it will come at a later time.
Finally, while not everyone does this, I recommend that, over time, you should also try to understand what your team members are passionate about both professionally and personally (to the extent that they’re willing to share and you’re interested to learn).
2. Set Clear, General Boundaries, but Leave Room for Creative License
High performers often hate feeling like they’re being micromanaged. Luckily for me, I hate micromanaging. I’m very much on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to management styles and that often works well with high performing team members. I’ve found that if I set clear boundaries but let the team member ultimately manage the day-to-day work, I’ve rarely had problems with the work getting done well and on time.
The key is to make sure that your team member knows the important things, including deadlines, how often you’d like progress updates and the primary and secondary goals of the work.
It can be hard stepping back and letting go of some of the control you have over the work, especially on something that you have ultimate responsibility for, but with high performers, it’s often safe to do so. If you’re nervous about things getting done how you like them to be done, start gradually. For example, if it’s your first time managing a new team member, schedule more frequent check-ins and gradually lengthen the time between check-ins as you gain confidence in the person and their abilities.
3. Make Yourself Available and Ask Open-Ended Questions
Part of letting go of control and avoiding the temptation to micro-manage is building a solid relationship with your team and making yourself available.
If you’re not checking in as often, it’s critical that your team feels like they can come to you for guidance when and if it is needed.
I focus on building a strong relationship with my team at the outset and letting them know that I’m always around for questions. Even when I make myself available, I’ve found some people won’t come to ask for help unless the building is on fire and I happen to be standing by a hose.
To help in these situations, I typically will see how things are going between check-ins by stopping by and asking open-ended questions such as “Is there anything you want to talk through on your workstream?” or “Have you had the chance to think through how to address X?”. This encourages discussions that are less formal than scheduled check-ins and allows me to take a pulse check on progress while also letting my team know that I’m invested in their work without being more involved than necessary.
While they present their challenges, I feel very fortunate to have been able to manage many high performing teams and individuals. Hopefully, the strategies above will help you as you seek to manage high performing teams and individuals in your career.
One final thought is that I’ve often found that I learn as much or more from my team as I teach them, so I encourage you to be open to learning from those you lead.
