EMBA
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WHAT AlIEnATES TOP
pERFoRmERS
»Harvard Business
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Great managers are genuinely delighted by
the leadership potential of their best people
(as they see a bit of themselves in those
employees) and enjoy grooming them.
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When asked what factors matter most in motivated by one-upsmanship). That’s not
retaining talented employees, most of us to say that top performers don’t recognize
can name the big ones: pay, advancement, the deliberate selection of balls to juggle as
recognition, exciting challenges, the long-term a managerial strength, but when efficiency is
prospects of the organization, the quality of its compromised because of inattention rather
leadership, and so on. But like other employees, than priority-setting, dropped balls just look
top performers spend most of their time living like an uninspired mess.
with the day-to-day decisions of their direct
managers. What distinguishes a top performer
is that she often has the talent to do her ❷
iGnoRinG TouGh QuESTionS.
One mark of a good manager is the
manager’s job and a keen ability to assess her ability to address relevant questions head
manager’s choices. That makes her more likely on, even if that means admitting there’s no
than other employees to seek a change in her clear answer at present. Political deftness high. Top performers more than anyone want a
work situation if she perceives those small (of the honest variety) is a quality that all leader, not a mere number-cruncher.
matters as hindrances to her performance, employees, but especially top performers,
even if the big factors pass muster. respect. When a manager frequently ignores
or clumsily deflects important concerns, top ❹
unEASE WiTh lEADERShip SKillS
in ThE RAnKS. Great managers are
Here are the little things that top performers performers are particularly likely to be nagged genuinely delighted by the leadership potential
tend to notice quickly, find irksome, and cite as by it, because it seems to reflect the manager’s of their best people (as they see a bit of themselves
job drawbacks when they confide in colleagues inability or unwillingness to assess matters on in those employees) and enjoy grooming them.
and when they decide to leave an organization. the merits. Top performers have a natural stake And, fortunately, few managers seem to have
(The list is not based on systematic research in meritorious assessment. utter disdain for the truly talented people who
but rather on what I’ve observed anecdotally, report to them. But a fair number of managers
and often, working alongside top performers are more comfortable with the steady pluggers
in a variety of business contexts.) ❸
lopSiDED REliAnCE on DATA
oVER JuDGmEnT. Sensible analysis (employees who produce but don’t aspire)
of numerical data is an essential component than with the highest-potential folks, and top
❶
DRoppED BAllS. No one likes when of any manager’s job, especially at high levels performers detect that sort of complacency
a manager allows important matters of an organization. No one likes a decision right away. That said, show-off behaviour must
to slip through his hands and bounce away, maker who acts on whim. However, when a be nipped in the bud — but without stunting
only to be recovered when an employee is manager uses data as a crutch — or lack of data the top performer’s growth. ■
bold enough to restore them to his attention. as an excuse for inaction — employees become
But top performers are especially likely to sceptical about his capacity for good judgment.
feel responsible to do that recovery and to be That’s especially troubling to top performers,
Acknowledgment
disappointed in the manager whose oversight whose own judgment skills are sharp and whose
Article courtesy of Harvard Business.
forced them to it (assuming they’re not interest in being evaluated by capable judgers is
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