Managing the High Flyer: 7 Ways to Develop Top Talent

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
Managing the High Flyer
MANAGING THE HIGH
FLYER
How do you develop the already motivated?

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Attribution: All images are from sources where a Creative Commons license exists for commercial use. All icons are on subscription
from thenounproject. All clipart is from free sources. The MTL Professional Development Programme is copyright of Manage Train
Learn.
Managing the
High Flyer
Introduction: High flyers are people in your team who consistently turn in good
performance. The problems that high flyers present at appraisal time are different
from the problems posed by under-performers or stuck performers. It is not about
how to tease out more of the same (that's already happening) but about how to
maintain good performance and go that little bit extra to retain and develop them.

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1. DEVELOP
THEM IN BOTH
DIRECTIONS
High performance means consistently meeting
the high standards laid down by the
organisation, the team, or yourself. There are
three primary concerns that should be addressed
by the appraiser of high performers: how to
maintain high performance in the absence of
rewards such as promotion; how to ensure
performance remains high; and how to avoid
complacency and find new challenges. One way
to do this is to develop your high flyers in two
directions: in the horizontal area of skills and
knowledge and in the vertical area of growth and
personal development.
High-flyers are likely to benefit from vertical development
Flickr attribution: /maaorg/18759202806/

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2. MAKE
EXCELLENCE
A HABIT
It is rare for people to perform at optimum levels
all of the time. The aim of developing high flyers
should be to make their moments of excellence
the norm rather than the exception. In
appraising high flyers, focus on areas where
things don't quite work and how they can do well
even in these areas.
Use high-flyers as role models for others
Flickr attribution: /77474698@N07/18828124702/

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Personal
Growth
There comes a point in our personal development when, having attained technical
competence, we can only continue in one direction: personal growth. When we grow
personally, we no longer just "do" the job, the job becomes an expression of our personal
beliefs and values. Such development, which an appraiser can foster, results in work
becoming more meaningful and integrated with the rest of our lives.
Studies amongst the so-called Generation Xers who were born in the second half of the 20th century indicate that
their chief expectation in a job is the chance to learn and grow. Unlike previous generations who were content with
a job for life, they recognise the need to keep pace with change. "Over the long run, superior performance
depends on superior learning." (Peter Senge)

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3. PREPARE
FOR THE
NEXT STEP UP
Most people who are high flyers are those who
have reached a high level of competency in the
skills of one job. Extending their skills upwards,
eg through a Management By Objectives scheme
or through planned delegation, prepares them
for the next job up the ladder and also helps
them develop their personal and "soft" skills,
such as their leadership ability and teamwork.
There is no limit to potential

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4. ADD
QUALITY TO
COMPETENCE
There is a progression from competence to
quality that is the hallmark of top performers.
When someone can do a job well, there is
competence. When they can do it well for
others, there is service. When they can do it well
in the way someone else wants, there is quality.
Turn your top performers into quality experts.
The search for consistent quality never ends
Flickr attribution: /waltstoneburner/5745387762/

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5. SPREAD
THE
EXPERTISE
A high performer is a valuable resource in any
organisation. A wise manager will use top
performers not just to get good work out of
them but to extend their skills to others in the
team. You can do this through using your high
flyers as coaches, role models, and mentors. That
way, one 10-minute act of superior performance
can quickly become 100.
Use high flyers as mentors to others

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Use Your High Flyers to Mentor Others
Throughout history, the support and guidance of
an older person for a younger person has been
the key to the younger person's development. In
the stories of Ancient Greece, Mentor was the
person to whom Odysseus entrusted the care of
his house and son, Telemachus, when he went in
search of the Golden Fleece. More recently,
mentoring has become recognised as a valuable
and cost-effective way of developing high-flyers.
The story of how Michael Faraday learnt his art
and skill is an example of the value of mentoring.
Michael Faraday, was born the son of a humble
blacksmith in 1791. He left school at 13 and
became a bookbinder's apprentice. His employer,
George Riebau, saw Faraday's potential and not
only gave him access to all the scientific
publications that came into his shop but introduced
him to some of the most famous scientists of the
day, includingSir Humphrey Davy. Faraday got a
job as Davy’s assistant and this enabled him to
publish his own work which led to the discovery of
the electric dynamo and motor.
Image of Michael Faraday as a young man: Wikipedia

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The Five Roles of
Mentors
A 1995 study of mentoring techniques found that
the five most commonly used techniques among
mentors were:
1. Accompanying: taking part in the learning
process side-by-side with the learner.
2. Sowing: preparing the learner before he or she
is ready to change.
3. Catalyzing: plunging the learner right into
change, provoking a different way of thinking, a
change in identity or a re-ordering of values.
4. Showing: making something understandable,
or using your own example to demonstrate a skill
or activity.
5. Harvesting: here the mentor focuses on
"picking the ripe fruit": it is usually used to create
awareness of what was learned by experience
and to draw conclusions.
William Blake's watercolour of "Age Teaching Youth", a
Romantic representation of mentorship: Wikipedia

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6. LET THEM
TAKE MORE
RISKS
When your high flyers have mastered the skills of
their jobs, you can afford to let them take more
creative risks. You can suggest they try new ideas
out and perhaps get involved in projects and
trying out ways to deliver an even better service.
When people perform well, they can take more risks
Flickr attribution: /strocchi/191564072/

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7. TURN THEM
INTO
LEADERS
We live in a rapidly changing world where new
ideas, new techniques, and new business
solutions come at us almost every day. If you
have employees who are totally competent in
the present way of doing things, you can use
these people to work at the leading edge of
things, suggesting where you, your team and
your organisation can progress in the future. To
do this, give them the skills of managing change.
Leaders take the team to new places
Flickr attribution: /saumag/6170657792/

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This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn
AFinal
Word
High flyers are one of your most valuable assets, ones you cannot afford to lose. Being imaginative
about how to develop them even further will benefit them, your team, and your whole
organisation.

Managing the High Flyer: 7 Ways to Develop Top Talent

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