When High Performers Make Good Leaders Feel Bad
Leaders need skills, tools, and courage to manage these in-demand — and often demanding — business-critical workers
For many high performers, the drive to achieve at work is similar to what animates marathoners and climbers of Everest. It just feels good to do hard things. Pushing the boundaries of their capabilities and contributing to the fullest of their capacity is their drug. Organizations ostensibly value productivity. But some organizations struggle to capitalize on a high performer’s capacity and intrinsic drive.
Counterintuitive though it may seem, high performers are some of the most difficult individuals to lead. For example, keeping ahead of a high performer’s craving for challenge and achievement requires planning. Planning requires time. For leaders managing a portfolio of projects, programs, and people, managing a high performer can be exhausting. These individuals often finish projects faster, setting the pace for others, and can be standing at the finish line for leaders and teammates to catch up. While they wait, they get bored. High performers hate being bored or unproductive. Thus, leaders must respond to the high performer’s pace, and be ready with new work to keep the engine of productivity running smoothly. Unlike steady performers, whose…
