How much of my management time should I spend on each member of my team? It’s a question many managers have asked themselves at some point. Should they spend more time with the low performers? The average performers? Should they split their time equally among everyone, regardless of performance? (The short answer to that last one is no.)
But what most managers assume is their superstars—the highest performers and most reliable employees—are best left alone to manage themselves.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that anyone, regardless of where they fall on the performance spectrum, wants to be micromanaged. And yes, some people do require less management time than others. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that superstars either want to be left alone or are better off that way. Any superstar performer worth keeping is going to want a highly-engaged leader.
One of the biggest transformations of the hybrid workplace is employee perception of managers. When we were all in the office together, one’s manager was someone generally to be avoided. If the boss came knocking on your door, if it wasn’t bad news, at least it was an unwelcome distraction. Now that many of us are working remotely, at least some of the time, this mindset is shifting.
Today, nearly everyone at work views their manager as integral to their own career success. After all, the manager is the last line of defense between balance and overcommitment, and has influence over rewards. Managers are the link between lower-level employees and high-level decision makers within the company. They advocate on their teams’ behalf. They recognize people’s efforts and ensure that those efforts are also recognized by others.
Managers have a lot of power over the careers and livelihood of their employees. Superstars know this better than anyone.
It also used to be conventional wisdom that in order to climb the corporate ladder and succeed, it was best for one to lie low at work and be noticed as little as possible day-to-day. Following that advice today would be a surefire way to indefinitely stall your career.
Again, the superstars know this better than anyone. As a result, they know that having quality face time with their managers is indicative of improvement and career success. Being ignored by your manager? That means you’re going nowhere fast.
The key word here is quality. Superstars know when they’re being humored. They’re also probably pretty good at quantifying results. If you have a high performer who insists on having more of your management time, don’t meet with them as a way to get them off your back. Invest as much time in helping them succeed as they invest in helping you succeed.
A lot of managers believe that their superstars are so good that there’s nowhere for them to go, no ways they could possibly improve. Or, put a different way, managers come to believe they have nothing more to offer their superstars. If that is truly the case, it doesn’t mean that person doesn’t need a manager. It just means they should have a different manager.
The reality is there is always room for improvement. That’s true no matter who you are or what you do.
Managers don’t need to reinvent the wheel to help their highest performers succeed. Creating an upward spiral of performance—for anyone on the performance spectrum—is simply about practicing the back-to-basics fundamentals of management. It’s about having regular, ongoing 1:1 conversations with every employee on the team, including the superstars.
Strong leadership sends the message, “You are important and what you do here is important.” If you want to attract the highest performers and keep your superstars around to continue doing great work for you, set them up for success with a highly-engaged manager.
We have a host of free resources you can use to get back to the basics of strong management:
And if you need more support, we’re happy to help. Contact us to learn more about solutions for you or your team.