184Managing Individuals
assignment with another team. (Your preparation for this meeting might
include touching base with your own boss to talk about how employees’ de-
velopment could meet larger needs in the unit, or coincide with your own
plans for advancement.) Then follow up within the company in a timely
way to make sure that these resources and opportunities come through.
Even if everything doesn’t pan out, you want to be able to tell high achiev-
ers that you’re doing everything you can for them. Your advocacy as their
boss is important to them.
In addition to promoting your direct reports’ career goals, you should
also make sure you—and they—understand the cost of what it takes them
to achieve those great results. If their work habits aren’t sustainable, they
risk burning out and maybe quitting your organization altogether. So
check in frequently to make sure work isn’t disrupting important life func-
tions like health, family, and leisure. Ultimately your employees’ work-life
balance is up to them: if they choose to forgo their hobbies and their kids’
sports games in the name of work, you can’t stop them. But you can make
sure that you’re communicating clear expectations and empowering them
to work well. Make a habit of asking, “How can I continue to support you?”
and “What can we do as an organization to get better at supporting your
great work?”
High performers put themselves under a lot of pressure, but there are
a few things you can do to help them grow in a healthy way:
Set boundaries with compassion.
When your employee interrupts you in front of your boss to show off their
expertise, you might feel angry. But expressing these negative feelings to a
star player may cause a backlash. Instead of saying “That was out of line!”
wait until your feelings have calmed and then try a compassionate question
that pushes them to refl ect on their own motives:
“Your interjection earlier surprised me. What were you hoping to ac-
complish there? What do you think the effect was?”
They’ll probably say something like, “I wanted to make a point I
thought you were missing.”