Managing top talent

he last two weeks, we have been discussing hints and tips on how you can become a good boss. We continue with the series on the engagement and relationship between the boss and employee.

Today, we will specifically dwell on how a good boss can manage the top performing employees or in short top talent. While we have common approaches needed for managing staff, top talent need a specific way for managing them if you are to maximise the unique benefit they bring to the company.

Challenge them positively: Top talent are just that—top talent! They produce much more output than the rest of their peers. You can only keep them going and motivated by challenging them at their level and by matching their elevated levels of capacity and capability. Do not break them but do stretch your top talent. This way, you will not only keep them charged up to work effectively but also, they will, subsequently, produce the maximum output that you desire from them.

Make them autonomous: You probably have a team of three or five or even 10 people or more. Managing people takes time and can be quite a task. If you have some members of your team that you can leave on their own to manage their own affairs and only bring to your table complete results, then you will remain with adequate time to manage the rest of the team. This is where top talent become handy. They allow you to nearly ‘forget’ about their work and then you can have adequate time, energy and space to manage the others.

Show them their value: Remember that your top talent are not machines. They may be very effective and efficient, they may be producing output at levels that are multiples of the others, but that does not make them machines. You still have to manage them like human beings. Appeal to their emotions and their aspirations. You need to recognise them in a special way. You can show them how much they mean to you and to the company. There may be danger sometimes that some staff can go astray when they know their special standing in the department or company. Therefore, do not overdo it either.

Build their successors: If you have top talent in your team, know that top talent can easily leave your team. Top talent may be moved to another department or section or may be promoted. Top talent can also easily resign and join another organisation. If you have top talent, be always ready with your alternative cover in case of abrupt move away from your team. Build potential successors for the position held by your top talent because chances are that you will not have a lot of time to arrange for succession by the time your top talent is move up or out.

Don’t compete or compare with top talent: I have seen some bosses make the mistake of trying to compete with a top performing member of their teams. It is unnecessary and a big mistake. Do not compare yourself or compete with the top talent. Your job is to simply manage and support your talent around you. The moment you start comparing or competing with the top talent, you will start losing the plot and focus!

Let them go: We have already stated above that top talent will not be with you for ever. Top talent will easily move up or out and that is the reason you need to have ready your alternatives for cover.

Your team and indeed yourself will probably be so dependent on your top talent that you cannot imagine a life without them. But when time comes for your top talent to move up or out, your job is to simply double check if your top talent is getting a good reason to move. If the reason for moving up or out is great, please allow your top talent to move on. Probably, by now you have already benefitted from the unique output and delivery of your top talent.