Much of the industry has similar challenges with their new employees. Too many are inconsistent, unreliable, or worse.

If only you could attract a superstar instead?

Careful what you wish for.

I see an “equal but opposite” challenge with superstar employees.

Last week I wrote about the virtues of investing (paying) more for the right employee. This week I have some important insights into managing them,

Superstars and Supercars.

On social media I often see short videos of drivers with new high-powered sports cars.

You see them hit the gas, lose control and immediately skid off the road into the guardrail. It’s never pretty.

A superstar employee can suffer a similar fate.

Just because they are smarter and self-motivated, it doesn’t mean they need less care and attention when you first hire them.

In fact, the more power they have, the more attention they need.

“I don’t have time to babysit them.”

It’s common to assume that competent leaders and managers need less on-boarding (than lower level hires.)

The challenge: left to their own devices, an ambitious, talented new hire can head off in the wrong direction:

• Making uninformed decisions,
• Implementing new ideas without clear guidance,
• Reinventing the wheel.

Their egos tend to be stronger, and thus they need more steering upfront.

Like a sports car, they can get into trouble faster.

Examples

A coaching client just hired a high-powered sales manager – and this new person brought a stronger approach to bear on the organization.

Let’s just say it was a culture shock.

It’s fine to hire someone to shake things up, but how you go about it can mean the difference between success and failure

The new manager needed more initial guidance to better understand the existing culture, clients and personalities.

On a different note: sometimes a strong, quiet professional is frustrated by the lack of impact they are allowed to have.

A top contractor we coach hired a controller but didn’t give her the upfront attention needed.

He told her, “Here, wrap your head around our numbers, you already know your way around our accounting software.”

But frustration grew as the controller was not able to make the strategic impact she wanted. She felt disconnected, and it almost went off track.

Luckily, we identified the issue on time, did a “restart” and got everything back on track.

Powerful people need on-boarding to maximize their value.

I have seen this happen repeatedly, where an independent minded new hire is left to find their own way.

And they end up having less impact by year’s end, leaving them and their boss unhappy.

Your Challenge: Spend Your Valuable Time With Your Best People.

Your problem people, like problem children, tend to suck up the majority of your time.

That’s why you hire superstars in the first place.

So you can be more proactive and truly scale your business.

This also means spending more time with these people, in order to maximize their impact.

Your job doesn’t end when you find and hire them – it’s just beginning.

It’s how you turn your potential superstars into actual superstars!

Good luck!

Let us know if we can help.

Regards,

Jeffrey Scott!