Handling the lows of the high performers

He is so smart. He is over-smart. What a talent. What a pain. He is a star. He is an enigma. Talk about the “high performers” of the company and that is what you get to hear. Handling the top talent of the company is a top priority for most businesses. Rightly so. They bring business. They spur innovation. They drive growth. According to McKinsey, high performers in critical, complex roles deliver disproportionately (200 to 400 percent) more value and output than average performers in the same role.

Research from Thomas shows that high-potential employees are 91 percent more valuable to business strategy and long-term succession planning than non-high-potential peers. This also tallies with the Pareto Principle that 80 percent of your work will be done by 20 percent of your employees. These are staggering figures. An employee who is 400 percent times more productive—wow.

This qualifies them to be in the elite and exclusive club. Organizations are all ready to hire them and pamper them. High performers assume an almost indispensable aura for company goals and plans. They deserve special treatment. However, the “treatment” is a big dilemma. How to treat them? How to handle them? How not to handle them? How to keep them? How to motivate them? How to empower them? How to curb them? How to inspire them? How to rein them in? These are the catch-22 questions most companies struggle to answer. This struggle is not just another HR issue. This struggle can affect the very culture of the organization. While performance may be a common factor in them, this elite lot comes in all types and styles. Some of these HP (high performers) are:

HP as a driver - He is your classic lead the charge guy. He is the first to volunteer. He is the first to deliver. And he knows it. He will push and pull. He loves to rule and overrule. The issue with these people is that they want to hog all the work, take all the attention and have all the authority. This may create imbalance in the team stifling the more quieter and yet to be developed potential employees.

HP the tireless - These are the always on the go people. They work more than all. Give them something and they say yes. They are available 24/7. Their ability to take on everything makes them a classic case of stress and burnout. Their prioritisation ability gets compromised making them mess up some important project.

HP the connector - They are great people person. They get along with the team and other stakeholders. They socialise and they network. Social skills are a main component of getting work done. However, many a time the ability to execute becomes a victim of people pleasing.

HP the fixit – They are the guys who know how to solve and get things done. Get them in an emergency and a crisis, and they pull through tough issues. This know-all, speed-all attitude is great but sometimes cuts corners on quality, processes, and standards.

Every person has their strengths and weaknesses. No high performer is completely perfect, and no ordinary performer is completely imperfect. The ability of the company to understand the highs and lows of people and deal with them accordingly will determine whether the potential will turn to performance or hindrance. High performers are not a uniform category, and they need a versatile approach including the following:

Strategy No. 1-Beware of competence punishment - One classic mishandling of high performers is the overburdening of the workload. Work flows where it gets done. The fact that high performers get the work done, sometimes becomes a punishment. They are given more assignments. They are asked to go in meetings that the leaders cannot attend. They are asked to redo work that has been badly handled by other team members. This assumption that everything and anything will be done by them is pushed to the limit. Sooner or later the limit is crossed and either the employee suffers from burnout or he one day quietly resigns. That is why it is important not to take the high performer for granted. The over-burden and over-dependence backfires. The exit of such a core employee can really create a setback to the company plans. What leaders need to do is to ensure fair distribution of work. They need to provide all support for extra work. They should also prepare another team member with potential as a successor.

Strategy No. 2-Performance without behaviour-This one is the typical driver/fixer mould who thrives on being the “one” who brings the numbers to the company. He performs and makes sure the performance is noticed. He hogs attention. He overshadows people in meetings. He treats less performers as non-existent. People find him obnoxious. Complaints go to the senior management. Leaders shrug and look the other way. That is where the rot starts. When performance is all about numbers and is not linked to behaviour, it can get pretty nasty. The driver/fixer guy gets away with behaviour and values violation. This is serious as it creates rifts in the team. Companies must keep their system of promotions based on behaviour too. Performance should be defined in two areas, what and how. How part is the behaviour and attitude? The employees need to know that the how part is as important as what. The first time a values/behaviour violation takes place the performance rating must go down.

Strategy No. 3-Coaching and correcting-High performers are target achievers but may not know how to be a team player and a leader. The company must put these people on a high potential fast track path. This path should be designed to create a status appeal to these candidates who are trained, mentored and coached to be equipped to lead and work with teams. These Leadership development journeys will ensure that the high performers know that individual performance is not enough to grow.

Everybody wants high performers. Everyone wants to become a high performer. Every company wants to reward and retain its high performers. All good. Depends on what your definition is of high performance and how you deal with them. The company must define it. The leaders must know it. The high performer must realize it. Ultimately, how you behave must equate with what you achieve to develop a vibrant, durable high performance culture.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026