Talent Management - October 2008 - (Page 39)

“When someone helps another person, that person should be acknowledged and thanked,” said Executive Coach Lauren Sontag. “Sometimes the star performer may need to be reminded of the long-term beneﬁts of sharing credit, rather than taking full credit.” Use 360 tools as a feedback mechanism. Star performers need to know they will face consequences for negative behavior. Using 360 tools is like holding up a mirror so the star performer can see the results of their actions. It is equally important to have direct feedback sessions with star performers so they know the exact consequences of not changing their behavior. Ensure star-performer criteria are known and shared. That criteria is based on the cultural norms of each company. Ted Elias, director of talent management at TIAA-CREF, has helped others face this challenge. Elias once consulted with Sandy*, a star performer who came from a large, results-driven, hard-charging pharmaceutical company. Sandy moved to a nonproﬁt organization that valued relationships ﬁrst, results second. She is still struggling to adjust her style to her new environment. “My challenge is to help Sandy understand the new norms of the organization and what it will take for her to excel in this environment. “Sandy’s company should ensure that ‘relationship orientation’ is identiﬁed as a leadership value, and it should articulate where ‘driving for results’ stands relative to other values,” Elias said. Set expectations of appropriate behavior for all employees during the selection process. Some selection processes include conducting assessments to determine if the candidate is a team player, how he or she reacts to recognition, as well as coaching ability. Hold managers accountable for helping the star performer change his or her behavior. Most star performers are excellent at what they do. But like Lepsinger, sometimes managers are reluctant to hold them accountable for unacceptable behavior. Christine Birnbaum, director of organizational effectiveness at New York Life Investment Management, said, “Even if an employee does the work of three people, they may need to change their behavior, or it can be a career ender for them. Some managers used to say, ‘Well, that’s just how she is.’ That justiﬁcation is no longer accepted. The manager is accountable for communicating this through performance appraisals, ongoing coaching and individual development plans.” Birnbaum worked with a senior star performer who had a habit of unmercifully attacking others if their performance was not up to his standards. Rather than focus on aspects of the employee’s performance requiring improvement, the star performer would berate the employee, use unnecessarily harsh and inappropriate language and create an antagonistic environment. “I went to his manager to make him aware of this behavior and indicated this needed to be addressed immediately,” she said. “I also emphasized that the manager was accountable for working with the individual to change their behavior.” Pay attention to interpersonal skills. Star performers often have come up through the ranks by producing, producing, producing and churning stuff out — and neglecting the grooming of their interpersonal relations. “In general, they are not mean people, but they may not relate well to colleagues, and then don’t understand when their career stalls,” said Sontag. Further, at some point technical expertise is assumed and leadership skills become more important. How do you help star performers understand they need to create relationships? “Frankly, it usually takes them running into walls for awhile,” said Sontag. “I help coach them by ensuring they know who their stakeholders are and who is important in their career. In some cases, I put a greater priority on social activities, such as lunches with business associates, and less of a priority on e-mails as a way to communicate. I literally help them regiment their social interactions.” Isolate the star performer’s role. Consider modifying the person’s role to become more of an expert, individual contributor or one-person function. Ensure the new role will highlight the star’s best qualities and will minimize a negative impact on the rest of the organization. Again, be sure to communicate why this change is happening by emphasizing the star’s good qualities and developmental needs. Without this direct feedback, the star’s glow may eventually fade. Sometimes, talent managers need to hit ’em in the pocket book. It can be tempting for a star performer to ignore unﬂattering feedback when he or she is bringing in a tremendous amount of revenue. After giving direct feedback to a star performer, sometimes the manager needs to cut the bonus and, again, explain why. Encourage a star performer to fail. Star performers literally can be trapped by their accomplishments. When people don’t know something, they often are more open to learn. But when people know something quite well, they are often invested in being an expert. That can be limiting. Encourage the star performer to take risks, try new assignments, jobs and work styles. During her June Harvard University commencement speech, J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, said, “The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualiﬁcation I ever earned.” Being smart, exceeding goals, creating unique strategies and surpassing performance expectations is not enough. The star performer also should have superior interpersonal skills and a keen awareness of how his or her actions impact others. Susan Kushnir is an organizational development specialist for the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. She can be reached at editor@talentmgt.com. October 2008 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com 39 http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - October 2008

Talent Management - October 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Foundations The Three Pillars of Executive On-Boarding Role-Based Assessment: Thinking Inside the Box Who's Going to Speak Up for Health Care? Obey the Push to Automate Managing the Star Performer No One Wants to Work With Adopting a Mutual-Funds Model for Talent Management Hewlett-Packard: Simple Talent Management in a Technical World Team Effort Pays in Talent at London Business School The Employee Survey: What’s in It for Me? Why Most Managers Are Stuck Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.