How to Manage High Performers


High performers are an essential asset to any company. With the ability to achieve their goals and improve company performance, these individuals are ready to go the extra mile beyond their job descriptions — but they still need support. As a leader, it’s vital to recognize high-performing employees need as much attention as everyone else to ensure they continue driving results for your company.

Who Are High Performers?

A high performer is an individual who goes above and beyond to achieve tasks and other assignments at work. If an employee is a high performer, they often take initiative and focus on improving workplace habits and behaviors so their specific team or the entire company can benefit from their actions. Since high performers are reliable, they often become the go-to people for their peers and supervisors.

The Challenges of Managing High Performers

High performers inevitably face and work through being stuck, plateauing or being bored at some point.

High performers tend to perform well with many strong suits. While this can be a good thing, it can also cause issues. The truth is, for many managers the person with some challenges is easier to lead. We have things for them to work on, items to discuss in one-on-ones and phrases to fill the text fields of periodic performance reviews and individual development plans. High performers do not often provide these  same luxuries.

Tips for Managing High Performers

High-performing talent can make or break the success of a project, so it’s essential to provide support and supervision to keep them happy in their roles. Here are some tips for managing high performers:

  • Give clear expectations: Setting clear goals enables high performers to understand how you will judge their performance and what they will achieve.
  • Offer autonomy: Giving employees the freedom to determine their own schedule enables you to avoid micromanagement and motivate high performers.
  • Adjust the workload accordingly: It may be tempting to send your high performers as many tasks as possible or harder tasks because you know they will complete them. Over time, this approach can lead to burnout. Effective leaders will adjust the workload accordingly and redistribute tasks to keep the high performer and the entire team on track.
  • Talk about growth and development: High performers want to know they’re progressing on projects and in their careers. As a leader, you can engage high performers in frequent conversations about growth and development to help them find new and challenging work in their current positions and future promotions.
  • Learn to delegate: Letting go of your fears around delegating enables you to give high performers new tasks and challenges, working to keep them engaged.

Take Your High Performers to the Next Level With The Center for Leadership Studies

If you’re looking to optimize how you manage high-performers on your team, The Center for Leadership Studies is here to help. We are the global home of the Situational Leadership® Model and will personalize our lessons to meet your exact needs. We invite you to complete our online contact form today to learn more.