The Top Secrets to Managing a Rockstar

A few weeks back, I put down in writing a few thoughts regarding my strategy to manage struggling employees. This time, I would like to share my perspective and tricks on how to manage rockstar employees.

I define rockstar employees (aka unicorns) as the people on your team who seem to be up to any challenge, and able to pull off any project that you put on their plate. They are those who you know you can't afford to lose, because they are not easily replaceable. But true rockstars are not just brilliant and hard-working, they are also committed, reliable, passionate, and have a strong sense of ethics. In short, they are the whole package.

Many managers make a grave mistake thinking that their rockstar employees are "low maintenance". That's because they know that these employees will deliver and "make stuff happen", usually with very minimal amount of support from their peers and their boss. However, nurturing rockstar employees and keeping them happy gets sometimes even more challenging than helping those who struggle. There are several reasons for that:

1. It is easy to interpret high performance as happiness. However, because an employee is delivering doesn't mean that he/she enjoys his/her job. High performers typically have a very strong sense of duty and would not allow (by pride if for no other reason) their projects to fall behind (until they completely lose interest and it is too late for you to retain them), so they will religiously perform the tasks you assigned. That doesn't mean, however, that they are not getting frustrated, or that they are satisfied. When managing strong performers, pay attention to all potential warning signs.
2. It is not always easy to assign and direct projects that you are yourself not familiar with. Overachievers are all about taking risks, and trying new things, which means the projects you'll have to pick for them will have to be outside-the-box. And unless you are of the daring type, that might bring you way outside of your own comfort zone.
3. Working with a high performer often requires humbleness, as such individuals are often brilliant, and might actually be better than you are in areas where you were traditionally known as the expert. It takes a special kind of manager not to see an overachieving employee as a threat and keep treating them fairly and impartially. Keeping in mind that nurturing a rockstar and helping him/her thrive is your own special contribution to the company (after all, it is probably thanks to you that they are staying!) will make it easier on you.
4. Because rockstar employees are those who other companies are the most likely to poach, you will have to be extra careful not to lose them to the competition and to make sure that all their needs are met. Rockstars know their own worth (or will learn it sooner or later), and won't have any trouble finding another (more) interesting job elsewhere if you don't live up to their expectations.

What can you do to treat your unicorn employees well?

Challenge them

The interesting thing about overachievers is that they love pushing their boundaries. Their comfort zone is all about being uncomfortable, which is why they typically frown upon repetitive tasks. Make sure that each project is a brand new experience for them, and that it gives them the opportunity to acquire new skills. Working on easy tasks might feel dull to them, and if their projects are not interesting enough, they will start looking for another job (which, surely, you don't want to happen). Giving them hard problems to work on is a win-win situation: you get to explore new horizons for the team and/or the company, and they stay excited. So, rather than assigning them uninspiring tasks, give them this one project that you know they alone will be able to pull off.

Let them challenge you

Overachieving employees are usually very creative and ambitious, and can come up with the most interesting (and sometimes bizarre) ideas. Be open to their suggestions and allow them to influence your opinion as well as the roadmap of your team. Don't dismiss their ideas without giving them a chance. Don't come across as the killjoy who always discourages novelty or new initiatives, or they'll run away from you! As Steve Job said, "it doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do". Being the boss, it is your role to get the best out of people and to trust that they know what they are doing.

Show them that they matter

Unicorn employees are goal-driven, and like to measure their own success in a concrete manner. More than others, they find it delightful to contemplate the fruit of their labor in action - that makes them feel proud and fulfilled. Make their impact very clear, by either giving them more responsibility, or by showing them the difference that their work is making within the company. Give them real meaning and remind them how important their contributions are to the team.

Don't micromanage them

High performers are typically free-spirited people, so... hands off! They don't stand out above the crowd by doing what everyone else does, but by coming up with new unique ideas, some of which are sometimes just crazy enough to work. They cultivate their difference, and so should you. Appreciate them for their differences and their originality, and give them sufficient space for them to execute their plan like they please. They can't stand cookie-cutter jobs, and usually flee managers who expect them to follow the rules to a tee. Set the expectations and then let them do their own thing - deep inside, you just know that they will pull it off, as always!

Don't take them for granted... ever

Rockstar employees need praise and encouragement like everyone else. It is not because you are so used to seeing an employee succeeding that you can take that level of performance for granted and stop telling them how great they are. It is very hurtful to any employee not to receive marks of appreciation from their manager, but even more so for overachieving employees. After all, who would like to give everything they have to their company before finally realizing that their prowess and efforts are not not even acknowledged? Whatever you do, show them that you are their number one fan. Never forget to tell them that they are awesome.

Don't take credit for their work

Guess what... rockstar employees don't work harder for your sake: they do it because they want to advance their careers and learn new things. That's what they do. Therefore, they will take it very badly if you try to take credit for their work. Resist the temptation to steal credit from them - you will already get credit by helping them win and perform at such a high level.

Be loyal

True rockstars (from which I exclude brilliant jerks) typically value loyalty and honesty. They want to be loyal to you, but (unsurprisingly) expect the same from you. Don't betray them by giving a deserved promotion to someone else based on grounds not related to performance. Don't lie to them, but be frank and direct with them. Never over promise: no one likes investing time and hard work for the sake of the company to see the company reward someone else at the end of the day. They need to know that you have their back and that you have their best interest at heart.

Give them interesting projects

Don't assign them tasks that you don't want to take care of yourself. Because they are generally very reliable, it is easy for a boss to see a top performer as their assistant, the one who can save the day. For that reason, they can often inherit short-term tasks, which, while crucial, might be less ground-breaking than others. Remember that boredom is their archenemy, and bringing them some excitement will often prevent them from disengaging from their role.

Reward them in due time

For better or for worse, it is in our human nature to expect to get something back whenever we work hard. Overachievers are no exception to the rule, and for most of them, the expected reward has something to do with a promotion or some mark of recognition from the company. Make good on the promises you make them and give them their fair due. Get them the visibility that they desire and deserve. All they want is room to grow and thrive, so consistently show them that you can support their career ambitions and hopes. And don't wait till you have a resignation letter sitting on your desk to make things right for them.

Make them feel special

This is one is a little bit tricky because you don't want your high performers to turn into brilliant jerks. However, if you make them feel that you trust them, and them alone, to deliver on specific tasks, they will most likely outdo themselves and become even better, while becoming even more loyal and valuable to the company. They love knowing that they are unique; the good news is that they actually are unique, and it therefore should be easy for you to fulfill that aspiration of theirs. Finding the right balance in the amount of praise you give them can get both of you really far.

The cost of losing a rockstar employee

Let me put it bluntly: losing your rockstar employees can have dreadful consequences on your team. That's obvious, you might say: you trust your rockstars to take care of your most important projects, and would hate to lose them. However, the cost of losing them is higher than you might first think.

They are those who understand the business better than others

If you lose a rockstar, some of his/her knowledge will be gone, forever. Even if they are particularly good at documenting their own work, some know-how just can't be translated into words or graphs. By losing them, you not only lose their skills, you also lose their experience and their sense of intuition. When I was a PhD student in Particle Physics, our particle detector was using a type of microchip that had been developed by an engineer who had retired. This person was the only expert worldwide to know how to repair it in case of failure. Sure enough, when the chip broke down, we had to pull the engineer out of retirement to have him fix it. If your rockstar leaves, you might end up in a similar scenario.

They are those who brand the company

Talent attracts talent. When people interview for a job on your team, seeing that you have outstanding team members comes across a good sign for them. That's both because people want to work with smart people (especially junior people, who are looking for people to mentor them), but also because having rockstars on a team speaks highly of the quality of the work that is being accomplished, and of the prestige of the company as a whole. With no rockstar around, you are less likely to attract high performers in the future. Losing your overachievers might put you in a vicious circle you might not be able to recover from that easily.

Their departure will confuse the rest of the team

When people resign, the rest of the team is prone to wonder what caused the decision, indubitably creating some chaos. But if the resignation comes from a high performer (who people perceive as someone who had apparently every reason to thrive), things get even more complicated. People credit high performers as particularly savvy people, and naturally, seeing them depart will lead the rest of the team to ask if the employee foresaw something bad in the company's nearby future. Losing them can cause complete mayhem within the company.

Finding a new rockstar is hard and expensive

Every company wants to hire unicorns, and you will have to compete to get the best talent. Getting a rockstar to join your team might be very hard, especially in some areas of Tech. Besides, you will have to incentivize them with strong financial packages even before they start bringing concrete value to the company. In short, hiring a new employee is a bet. It might be very frustrating for an employer to be put in a situation where they have to bet both money and time, when they had their hands on the dream employee just a few short weeks before. It is almost always cheaper to incentivize your current employees rather than someone that you are trying to bring onboard, so don't miss the boat!

A star is born...

A rockstar is an employee that showcases the combination of several traits: a strong sense of ownership, a hunger to succeed, exceptional technical skills, relevant experience, the ability and willingness to learn fast and an amazing attitude. Still, it takes time for anyone (include high performers) to settle into a new position. Besides, it won't be before several weeks that your new employee starts performing to the best of his/her ability, and before you can measure if he/she is as strong a performer as you hope he/she would be. It takes a great deal of time and energy to nurture a great employee and turn him/her into a rockstar. So cherish those who are already on your team!

Ultimately, it all comes down to a pretty simple conclusion: when you have a rockstar on your team, fight hard to keep him/her and don't give them a good reason to start looking elsewhere. Keeping them satisfied is not as hard as it might seem, as long as one understands exactly what makes them get up in the morning, and provide the right environment for them to thrive. Just like always in a managerial position, putting people first is key, and leading with heart is the ultimate way to become the successful leader of a unicorn employee.