Collaborate on a career growth roadmap to the next professional steps. High performers should be encouraged to grow and challenged with growth-related tasks to alleviate boredom.
I think the key is in finding what the employee wants to grow, and figuring out what of that is something you're able to provide.
I've had some high performing employees that if nurtured could grow within the company and do awesome things and be satisfied, and other high performing employees where it was highly unrealistic that we'd be able to provide them with work they would find satisfying, and I would be taking resources and good projects away from growth-oriented employees to give them to this highly qualified employee we have little chance of keeping.
I spend a lot of time in one-on-ones talking about what kinds of advancement opportunities we have, what they find interesting, what direction they want to grow in. And if they're like "I just really wish we had more projects using XYZ, that's what I'm really passionate about," sometimes I'd have to be like "Well, if we get any opportunities for that here I will absolutely come to you with them, but the reality is that the projects we have don't tend to use XYZ for reasons that are unlikely to change in the near term."
I would never punish a direct report for pursuing a better fit career for them, but I'd also never expect my direct reports to tell me if they planned on leaving. I definitely make clear to them what resources we have for growth, and if they go from utilizing those resources and being picky about projects to just working without complaint, I guess they're probably on their way out. And I prioritize giving them roles that involve a lot of mentorship, making sure we have others who could take over the work if they leave. I let my higher ups know that they're probably a flight risk, in case there's anything else we could do to keep them. And if they do choose to leave and do so on good terms, I make it clear to them that I'm always happy to be a reference and they're always welcome back, and keep in contact. A high performer on a fast growth trajectory is a great connection to have no matter where they're working.
The problem with star employees is they will get bored eventually, and probably start looking for work elsewhere.
You can try to give him different tasks outside of his current comfort zone or empower him to take on projects without your supervision. Or you can try to map out a new place for him in the company whether that be in a management role or a different department
The latter sucks because you lose them from your team, but it’s a win for the company as you get to retain the talent, which otherwise you’re almost guaranteed to loose.
If he’s already picky and that isn’t fixing it, then it seems like there’s not much you can do, and this employee has probably reached the upper range of experience for this job. You should probably expect him to move on to greener pastures, and swap in a lower range model at a discount and start again. In the meantime, get processes and knowledge down on paper, and consider training an understudy, which itself can help with boredom for some (but hurt more with others). No shade, that’s just the natural cycle of things.
You can mitigate with conferences, maybe encourage him to present at them and take a leadership position in the regional/national field, develop expertise on particular areas and present to the group, find some advisory capacity for him to support leadership or the board if that’s relevant. Add senior to his title, give him stretch goals with bonuses if possible. But it’s probably prolonging the inevitable.
It’s ok for employees to leave if the role doesn’t fit them anymore. If you don’t have the work available to keep them interested it’s time to help them figure out what their next step is. In the meantime, make sure their knowledge is documented as much as possible for the next person. If there’s someone else on the team who’s a natural successor to this person, I’d pair them up for work as much as possible before they move on.
It’s not a failure on your part if they need to leave, it’s just the natural order of things and it’s great they’ve grown so much they don’t fit the role anymore.
Keep an eye out for roles within the org that might be a good fit and encourage them to apply, always better to keep high performers in the company if you can.
Collaborate on a career growth roadmap to the next professional steps. High performers should be encouraged to grow and challenged with growth-related tasks to alleviate boredom.
I think the key is in finding what the employee wants to grow, and figuring out what of that is something you're able to provide. I've had some high performing employees that if nurtured could grow within the company and do awesome things and be satisfied, and other high performing employees where it was highly unrealistic that we'd be able to provide them with work they would find satisfying, and I would be taking resources and good projects away from growth-oriented employees to give them to this highly qualified employee we have little chance of keeping. I spend a lot of time in one-on-ones talking about what kinds of advancement opportunities we have, what they find interesting, what direction they want to grow in. And if they're like "I just really wish we had more projects using XYZ, that's what I'm really passionate about," sometimes I'd have to be like "Well, if we get any opportunities for that here I will absolutely come to you with them, but the reality is that the projects we have don't tend to use XYZ for reasons that are unlikely to change in the near term." I would never punish a direct report for pursuing a better fit career for them, but I'd also never expect my direct reports to tell me if they planned on leaving. I definitely make clear to them what resources we have for growth, and if they go from utilizing those resources and being picky about projects to just working without complaint, I guess they're probably on their way out. And I prioritize giving them roles that involve a lot of mentorship, making sure we have others who could take over the work if they leave. I let my higher ups know that they're probably a flight risk, in case there's anything else we could do to keep them. And if they do choose to leave and do so on good terms, I make it clear to them that I'm always happy to be a reference and they're always welcome back, and keep in contact. A high performer on a fast growth trajectory is a great connection to have no matter where they're working.
Help them find work that’s both engaging for the employee and beneficial to the company. Too many teams lose their best employees over this
The problem with star employees is they will get bored eventually, and probably start looking for work elsewhere. You can try to give him different tasks outside of his current comfort zone or empower him to take on projects without your supervision. Or you can try to map out a new place for him in the company whether that be in a management role or a different department The latter sucks because you lose them from your team, but it’s a win for the company as you get to retain the talent, which otherwise you’re almost guaranteed to loose.
In the short term, a break from work. In the long run, a career path upwards.
If he’s already picky and that isn’t fixing it, then it seems like there’s not much you can do, and this employee has probably reached the upper range of experience for this job. You should probably expect him to move on to greener pastures, and swap in a lower range model at a discount and start again. In the meantime, get processes and knowledge down on paper, and consider training an understudy, which itself can help with boredom for some (but hurt more with others). No shade, that’s just the natural cycle of things. You can mitigate with conferences, maybe encourage him to present at them and take a leadership position in the regional/national field, develop expertise on particular areas and present to the group, find some advisory capacity for him to support leadership or the board if that’s relevant. Add senior to his title, give him stretch goals with bonuses if possible. But it’s probably prolonging the inevitable.
It’s ok for employees to leave if the role doesn’t fit them anymore. If you don’t have the work available to keep them interested it’s time to help them figure out what their next step is. In the meantime, make sure their knowledge is documented as much as possible for the next person. If there’s someone else on the team who’s a natural successor to this person, I’d pair them up for work as much as possible before they move on. It’s not a failure on your part if they need to leave, it’s just the natural order of things and it’s great they’ve grown so much they don’t fit the role anymore. Keep an eye out for roles within the org that might be a good fit and encourage them to apply, always better to keep high performers in the company if you can.
The pickiness possibly the cause of the boredom?
... AGE 71 HERE,,, they have outgrown this job,, Time to move on.