Too few leaders know how to effectively manage their high performers.
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No doubt you’re familiar with the 80/20 Rule: “80 percent of outcomes come from 20 percent of causes.” Because of the 80/20 Rule, I always referred to my High Performers as my 80/20 People.
Every business has them—those high-performing 80/20 people who you can count on to give 110 percent 110 percent of the time. But it’s not nearly enough to only know who these people are. You have to know how to lead them so that they remain 80/20 people.
If you don’t know the pitfalls of managing them, then you’ll look back and wish you’d done more. While I give the full scoop on these pitfalls in my book The Detour CEO, here are some of the biggest that I’ve encountered:
1. Assuming Tenure = Talent
It’s easy to make the mistake of giving the benefit of the doubt for far too long, especially when it concerns tenured people, such as VPs and Senior Directors. Early on in my executive journey, I made the assumption that “They wouldn’t have this role if they weren’t a high performer.”
This assumption ignores the fact that your 80/20 people are not static. If someone becomes complacent, they’ll lose their 80/20 status. Yes, you should give these people the chance to course correct, but assuming that tenure equals talent is the sort of mistake that can cause a company to decay from the inside out like a rotten tooth.
2. Not Guarding Your Time
When someone’s a high-performer, you can make the mistake of not giving them enough time. But the opposite is true, too—you can give them too much time, cutting into your own productivity to strategize and problem solve.
Eventually, moved to a policy of only allowing thirty minutes for individual meetings. Everyone always asked for an hour, and I would tell them, “No, you get thirty minutes. If you’re not prepared to keep it to thirty minutes, then we shouldn’t meet yet.”
To make sure we both abided by this rule, I’d also ask them to send a specific agenda ahead of time so I could prepare. This meant they couldn’t just send it to me five minutes before.
It sounds harsh, but putting these policies in place benefited both of us in the meeting. Not only did it keep me from burning up all of my time, but it taught my 80/20 People to be more strategic with their own time. Rather than shoot the bull for ten minutes, we made every minute really count.
Also, a little bonus tip: Never schedule back-to-back meetings! Always leave yourself some margin in between so you can do any follow up right away.
3. Overloading Your 80/20 People
You should always be on the lookout for opportunities to grow your high performers’ skills. And if you’ve got a go-getter on your team, they’re going to be eager to take on more work.
The downside is you have become aware that you don’t overload people. If you give people too much extra responsibility, they’ll lose focus from what they should be doing. They’ll prioritize the extra you give them over the work they are measured by.
Also, if you’re going to give someone more responsibility, don’t just let them go and leave them alone. Help them understand that if they are going to take on more responsibility, then they also need to be more accountable. Waiting for a six-month performance review is far too long. Instead, use biweekly check-ins to see how they are doing and gauge whether any burnout is sneaking in.
Nobody’s Perfect
Finally, remember that nobody’s perfect. Even your 80/20 people will make mistakes or have a bad week or even a bad quarter. Make sure you’re regularly checking in with them so you can catch problems early on before they wreak negative psychological damage.
It’s true that you can’t know everything about everyone. But the faster you can catch these pitfalls and act upon them, the longer you can keep those 80/20 people at their peak performance, and the more likely they are to succeed in their next role.
Which one of these areas do you do well already? Which one has snuck in? Which one will you tackle this week?
If you want to learn more about identifying and managing your 80/20 people, then make sure to connect with me at my website. Let’s help you be an 80/20 leader to your 80/20 people.