Every organisation dreams of discovering that rare blend of skill, drive and potential in its employees. High performers – or high potential talent – are those individuals who consistently deliver superior results and demonstrate the capacity to take on more complex responsibilities in the future.
Once found, these employees are invaluable assets. The challenge for leaders and companies is twofold: how to retain them and how to help them reach their full potential. Losing a high performance employee can be costly – not just financially, but also in terms of knowledge, morale and competitive advantage.
The good news is that organisations can create an environment that not only attracts but also excels at developing high performers. This requires intentional strategies, rooted in flexibility, trust and respect for the unique strengths and ambitions of each individual.
This article discusses some key approaches to building such an environment.
Table of Contents
Developing High Performers: Expansive Learning and Development Opportunities
A hallmark of high potential employees is their hunger for growth. They rarely settle for ‘good enough’ and are eager to constantly push their own boundaries. An organisation that recognizes and supports this drive can keep these individuals engaged and progressing.
Provide Flexibility and Choice
Learning should not be a one-size-fits-all proposition. Offering a variety of development options (such as courses, in-person workshops, coaching, project-based learning and even cross-functional experiences) allows employees to select the opportunities that align most closely with their goals and works best for their learning preferences.
Empowering high performers to choose their own learning paths is both a recognition of their self-awareness and a vote of confidence in their judgment. It also increases the likelihood that they will invest deeply in the experience, given that they have personally chosen it.
Offer Stretch Assignments
Beyond formal training, high potentials thrive when challenged with assignments that stretch their capabilities. These assignments might include leading a high-visibility project, spearheading a cross-department initiative or stepping into a temporary leadership role during a colleague’s leave.
The key is to strike the right balance. Stretch assignments should be demanding enough to foster growth, but not so overwhelming that they lead to burnout. By gradually increasing complexity, you can help employees build resilience and confidence.
Support Ongoing Skill Development
High performers often have a variety of career ambitions. Some may want to diversify their skills across functions; others may want to deepen their expertise in a specialised area for example. Providing access to wide-ranging skill development options such as industry conferences, thought leaders and professional networks can expand their horizons and strengthen their long-term value to the organisation.
To discover what ‘Flow State’ is and how it can lead to exponential performance gains, read our article ‘Flow State for Peak Performance’ |
Developing High Performers: Mentors and Advisors
While formal learning is important, much of the most valuable development happens through relationships.
The Power of Proximity
Spending time with highly accomplished and experienced professionals can be transformative. Exposure to how exceptional professionals think, make decisions and handle challenges offers high potentials a living blueprint for excellence.
Mentors can also accelerate learning by sharing hard-won insights, offering honest feedback and modelling professional behaviour in real time. Coaches can add to the mix by providing new perspectives, cross-industry insights and a space for confidential and neutral exploration of options and possibilities.
Building a Personal Board of Advisors
Encourage high performers to assemble a ‘personal board of advisors’ – a diverse group of mentors, peers and external contacts who can provide guidance in different areas of their career and performance. For example:
- A strategic thinker for long-term career planning
- A technical expert for deepening functional skills
- A peer sounding board for fresh perspectives and emotional support
Unlike a single mentor relationship, this network can evolve as the employee’s needs change. By drawing on different viewpoints, high performers gain richer, more detailed and well-rounded advice.
Formal and Informal Mentorship
Some organisations create structured mentorship programs, while others foster connections organically through networking opportunities. Both approaches can work – what matters is ensuring that employees have regular access to those who can challenge and inspire them.
Developing High Performers: Freedom in Work
Micromanagement is the natural enemy of high performance. For top talent to excel, they need as much autonomy as possible.
Autonomy Fuels Engagement
Research consistently shows that autonomy is one of the strongest drivers of motivation. High performers tend to be self-directed and thrive when trusted to take ownership.
Allowing them to choose their methods and work patterns doesn’t mean lowering standards – it means setting clear expectations for outcomes while giving them the space to decide the best route to get there.
Recognise Individual Working Styles
Some employees work best in bursts of intense focus, while others prefer steady, consistent pacing. Some are most creative in the morning; others hit their stride in the evening. Wherever possible, avoid rigid protocols that force people into unproductive patterns.
Encouraging Innovation Through Side Projects
Give high performers the opportunity to dedicate part of their time to projects outside their primary role – ‘innovation time’. These side explorations can spark creativity, uncover new skills and talents and lead to breakthrough ideas that benefit the entire organisation.
For example, many tech companies have famously used side projects as a breeding ground for major product innovations. But the principle applies in any industry: curiosity and experimentation keep people passionate about their work.
Developing High Performers: A Culture of Trust and Engagement
Even the most talented of individuals will disengage in an environment of mistrust or poor communication. A healthy culture is one where employees feel safe to contribute ideas, take calculated risks and admit mistakes without fear of punishment.
Building Trust Through Transparency
Trust doesn’t happen by itself – it must be cultivated through openness and consistency. Leaders should share the organisation’s vision, strategy and performance honestly, both in good times and during challenges.
When employees understand why decisions are made, they are more likely to support them, even when they disagree.
Making It Safe to Learn from Mistakes
A culture that punishes every misstep stifles innovation. Mistakes are inevitable when people are stretching themselves; what matters is the learning that follows. By framing mistakes as opportunities for growth, organisations encourage experimentation and calculated risk-taking.
Frequent and Meaningful Communication
Two-way communication is essential. Leaders should not only disseminate information but also actively solicit feedback. Involving employees in problem-solving and decision-making fosters a sense of ownership and strengthens engagement.
Recognition and Appreciation
Recognition doesn’t have to be elaborate, but it should be sincere and specific. A simple acknowledgment of someone’s effort or contribution can go a long way toward reinforcing desired behaviours and sustaining motivation.
Developing High Performers: Give People What They Want
Too often, companies assume they know what motivates their top performers. In reality, individual aspirations vary widely.
Understand Individual Goals
Some employees are driven by the prospect of leadership, while others derive satisfaction from mastering their craft without managing others. Assuming that all high performers should move into management can lead to disengagement or even turnover.
Keep Top Talent Where They’re Thriving
If someone excels in their current role and wishes to remain in it, that can be a win-win. Recognising and rewarding deep expertise – without forcing career changes – sends a powerful message that success can take multiple forms.
Avoid Misaligned Leadership Promotions
Promoting someone into a leadership role based solely on technical excellence can be risky. Leadership requires a different skill set: the ability to inspire, understand and manage others. Not every high performer has (or wants to develop) those capabilities. Matching roles to both skills and aspirations ensures a better outcome for the employee as well as for the organisation.
Developing High Performers: Pulling It All Together
Attracting and keeping high performing employees requires more than just competitive pay and perks. It demands a strategic, personalised approach that recognises the unique value each person brings and allows them the space to develop their skills and achieve their goals in the way that works best for them.
A concise framework to work with is:
- Offer flexible, self-directed learning and stretch opportunities.
- Facilitate rich mentorship and advisory networks.
- Grant autonomy while setting clear performance expectations.
- Foster a culture of trust, open communication and recognition.
- Listen to and honour individual career ambitions.
Organisations that invest in these areas create a workplace where high performers can thrive and excel, not just in the short term but also for the long term.
When people feel trusted, challenged and supported, they don’t just deliver excellent work. They become ambassadors for the organisation, attracting more talent and helping to build a culture of sustained excellence.
To find out more about how to engage people more at work, read our article ‘4 Powerful Ways to Increase Employee Engagement’. To harness the self-fulfilling prophecy at work, see our article ‘Self-fulfilling Prophecy in Business’. To explore issues around company culture, see our article ‘How to Create a Great Company Culture’. To examine whether personality tests are useful in executive coaching, take a look at our article ‘Personality Tests in Executive Coaching’. |
Executive and Business Development: Developing High Performers – Mary Taylor & Associates
At Mary Taylor & Associates we work with ambitious leaders and businesses who want specialist expertise, extensive experience and proven results.
Mary Taylor brings a rare blend of legal, psychological and organisational experience and expertise to her business consultancy and executive coaching work. With more than two decades of experience, she has partnered with companies across a broad spectrum of industries from fast-growing start-ups to global established companies, helping them steer through periods of transformation, scale and key strategic decisions.
We produce measurable outcomes and guarantee our services.
To understand more about what business consultancy offers, explore our article ‘What Does a Business Consultant Do?’ To find out more about exactly what executive coaching is, read our article ‘What is an Executive Coach?’ |
Get in touch with us today to discuss your business or career transformation.
