What might have happened? The most common cause, is that they have exhausted the more complex issues that they might face. There is little left to challenge them. Nothing is wrong with them…just work got too easy! Sometimes they become victims of their own success. It’s natural that they will also excel in certain areas specifically…the problems in these areas then become directed to them, and nothing fresh is then given to challenge them.
Their early career development was visible…new skills, new tools, new scope. It then becomes more delivering on a daily basis and which becomes taken for granted…it goes unnoticed. They have lost interest, or are just comfortable coasting along.
The first action is to assess the situation, and work out the “why”!
Have that honest conversation. “I’ve noticed you seem less stretched than you were a year ago…how are you feeling”? High performers usually know exactly what’s going on but have never been asked. Go in without a preferred answer, and be open minded.
Then change the problem, and not the person! Growth comes from work which challenges them again…something where failure is possible and they don’t already know the answer. Let them take ownership! As you develop them in ways which challenge them more, look at their strengths and ask them to document, train, and pass over some of their work to others…a template so that others deliver against some of their previous successes. This is often the single biggest win, but the one managers avoid because it can be short term painful!
Improve the quality of your feedback. Feedback tends to get worse as people get better. High performers usually receive the least useful feedback, because everything they do is of a good standard. The danger then means that they stop learning! Talk to them about their next role. Be specific about the next level’s challenge, not the current one’s. “You’re excellent in your current role, but what’s holding you back from the next step”? What can we do to help, and what are your thoughts?
The fastest way to lose someone strong is to imply a promotion or move that you can’t control. Be honest…what can you do to help? The work that you will give them, the exposure that you will create, the increased visibility. BUT…be honest…if there is no likely forthcoming promotion, say it. Some might leave. More will stay than if they find out by accident, and the ones who leave will do it in a positive as opposed to negative manner.
Two things break high performers specifically. Burnout, because their identity is all about high delivery, so they absorb the work rather than pushing back…and plateau by comfort, where they get so good at a defined area that leaving it feels like a demotion. Move people while they’re still winning, not after they’ve gone stale. Ask them once a quarter what they want to be able to do in two years that they can’t do today. It’s a much better question than “what’s your career goal,” and the answer tells you exactly which assignment to hand them next.
Remember…the people most likely to plateau invisibly are the ones you rely on most, because their reliability is exactly what stops you from disturbing their scope. Be brave and challenge the “status quo”!
Ovid.
