Toxic Rock Star

Question:

When our business development and marketing manager retired, I didn’t have to think twice about who I’d promote to the management role. “Noreen” wanted the title and deserved it. Her work ethic and focused discipline made her my “star” employee, one who always exceeded expectations.

Within the first month, two of the three employees in her department resigned. Noreen hired two replacements, and when the third of the original employees handed in her resignation this morning, I asked her “why.” She answered, “I can’t stand working for Noreen. She critiques how I do my work and even criticizes my personal life. I’ve always done well connecting with prospective clients, but Noreen insists I follow her step-by-step analytical approach to business development. When I protest, she lectures me, saying it’s for my benefit that I adopt her methods. And she insults me as a person. She’s married and I’m single, and she acts like that makes her a better human being. I’m tired of being made to feel small.”

“Have you talked with her about it?”

“I’ve tried, but she doesn’t listen.”

I sat down with Noreen and told her what I’d heard. She point-blank asked if I supported her. I answered, “Of course.” Then she told me, “This department was full of ‘dog employees.’ You promoted me knowing I was Type A. Achievement. Adrenaline. Ambition. Aggression. I thrive on results. You assigned me two goals—and if you let me do things the way I want to, I’ll achieve them.”

I then asked her how her two hires were doing, and she answered, “We’ll have to see, won’t we?”  

I value Noreen but wonder if I’ve made the wrong decision. Did I make a mistake by promoting a “superstar” employee?

Answer:

While some high-performing employees make superb managers, others don’t. Noreen demands that you support her. Does she support her employees? If not, you can’t afford her, as she appears to rule rather than manage.

Bring her back in. Since her career goals included becoming a manager, you may be able to “save” Noreen and keep her as a manager if you give her a new “stretch” goal, one related to how she treats others. If this idea scares you, and Noreen continues riding roughshod over her employees, you may have a department of one within two months.

Star employees

Here’s what you need to know about star employees. They’re great. They possess exceptional talent, demonstrate a strong work ethic, consistently exceed expectations, and deliver results, often knocking knock the ball out of the park.

Star employees are often soloists and can generate conflict on a team. Sometimes this results from others’ jealousy; at other times it’s that the stars expect others’ performance to equal theirs. In Noreen’s case, the problems she creates may come from her arrogance and judgmentalness.

Managing star employees

Those who effectively manage star employees play to their strengths and keep them challenged by providing them with interesting, complex projects that include “stretch” goals.

A star’s big results may come at a price. Because star employees often focus only on their individual results, their managers need to remind their stars to acknowledge other employees’ contributions to the team. While you need to give a star praise and recognition, you can’t afford to feed a star’s ego. You may need to occasionally remove an arrogant star employee from the pedestal onto which she’s elevated herself.

Keeping your star employee without losing your team

While you’ll want to fully engage your star employee, you can’t afford to neglect your B+ employees, as they may deliver even better long-term results than your superstars. Avoid favoritism and balance the attention and praise you hand out, so every member of your team feels valued. You don’t want any employee to feel “small.”