Why You Shouldn't Hire Superstars

Frequently, superstars- outstanding performers in one business- are frequently hired for a new job with high expectations for a repeat performance. More often than not, it doesn't happen. Why?

Boris Groysberg of Harvard Business School thinks he has the answer. In his book,?Chasing Stars: The Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance,Groysberg claims qualities that make an individual a superstar are not necessarily transferable from one organization to the next.

Groysberg compared 1,000 Wall Street investment analysts ranked superior by Institutional Investor Magazine with analysts who did not receive the magazine’s top ranking. He found that when analysts moved from one bank to another, their rank changed dramatically, indicating that the institution often played a greater role in performance than individual talent.

In an article in the?Harvard Business Review,?Rakish Khurana argues, "First, faith exaggerates the impact that CEOs have on companies. Second, the idea that CEOs must have charisma leads companies to overlook many promising candidates and consider others unsuited for the job. Finally, charismatic leaders can destabilize organizations in dangerous ways."

Culture is King

A superstar often flourishes because of a perfect mix of natural ability with a supportive environment. He may also, for example, have honed skills, received training, formed partnerships and basked in a culture that contributed to his outstanding performance. Superstardom is more portable than we would like to believe, and moving a star to a new situation with none of these factors may prove disastrous for everyone.

Before hiring a superstar away from another organization, Groysberg recommends thinking strategically about what makes that person great. If the star is succeeding because he is immersed in a fantastic culture and your own culture can’t compete, you will be setting him up to fail.

Learning is a Must

If you risk hiring someone else’s star, don’t let her/him convince you he doesn’t need a comprehensive onboarding program. Past success can blind us to the fact that we must always learn and adapt. Properly acquainting your superstar with your people, processes, and protocols will give him the greatest chance of continuing his upward trajectory.

Note: For the purposes of the article, I have used the masculine pronoun to refer to both male and female leaders.