AID Their Leap

The four seasons are a wonderful metaphor for so many things, including a learning curve. A new beginning sprouting in spring, the tipping point reached with rapid growth and productivity for summer, the graceful slowdown of fall, and the inevitable yielding to the frozen winter at the very top of the curve. Without a subsequent spring – a new curve for growth to begin again – we can get stuck in a Groundhog Day scenario, in which we repeat the same snowy day over and over again.

As spring brings the natural world to life in the northern hemisphere, I am reminded about this concept that I wrote about in “Build an A-Team.” Just as plants come out of dormancy and leap to a new curve of growth, your team’s top performers need an opportunity to jump to a new curve to avoid the languishing repetition that comes with too much time spent at the top of the curve. 

While spring-inspired this article, as a manager, don’t wait for the signs of spring to start thinking about a new curve. The time for an employee to identify their next mountain to climb is not after they become complacent, but before. You may be thinking, is it my job to navigate my people’s leap to a new curve? Shouldn’t they proactively lobby for a jump to a new curve when they reach the top? Absolutely – but remember, you are their supervisor, and it’s a lot harder for them to come to you to ask for a new opportunity than you might think it is. 

It may seem counterintuitive, but as a manager, you hold the power to make the top of the curve either a place of stagnancy or growth. Is the top of the curve a place where people decide to leave because they know there is nothing more to learn? Is it a spot where they outlive their usefulness and become deadweight? Or, is it a launching pad for even greater effectiveness? 

So, how can you harness this power? It’s time to come to your team member’s AID, a three-step process. 

Applaud their achievements 

Give them an opportunity to bask in their accomplishments. Too often, we quickly turn our attention to what’s next and what needs to be done to move forward. This thinking overshadows the successes that someone has had in a role. Think about when someone graduates from college, we take the time to honor what they’ve achieved. How can you do that for your top performers?

Identify a new learning curve

Talk openly about the concept of an S-shaped learning curve. Discuss the idea that when mastery is reached, they will be on the brink of a new learning curve. Work with them in an open, candid way to identify possible next steps. Ask them, “what are the goals they have in mind?” “what type of challenge would keep them innovating and producing?”

Make a commitment to help them jump to a new curve in the next six to nine months. In return, ask them to commit to a strong finish in their current role. 

Deliver on helping them jump 

You said it, and you need to follow through. They’ve given their all toward the team’s success, now it’s time to help them jump to a new curve where they can continue to succeed. 

Facilitating the jump to a new curve can feel risky. You put yourself in the position to create a hole on your team that was once filled by a star performer and, in turn, create a loss of productivity. The truth is, your talent will eventually leap to a new curve, and if you don’t help them, they will leave the organization in pursuit of new opportunities. 

When you put the interests of your employee first, you serve your own best interests. When you hoard talent, you find yourself pulling, or taking. When you develop people, you push them – and you – forward. You may not see immediate results - putting employee development first will almost never benefit you in the short term, but it will pay off in the long run. What you give, you will eventually get back. 

What might this new curve for your star performer look like? Next week, we will explore some of the ways you can push someone to a new S-curve within the organization. Spoiler alert – it doesn’t always mean they have to go up. 

How can you come to a star employee’s AID? 

How are you using your power to make the top of the S-Curve a launching pad for even greater effectiveness for your star performers?