Langham Hospitality Group

Mike Fong

In 2004, Mike Fong started as a guest service assistant, interning at the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Moving to intern at Walt Disney World, he provided guest contact services in the theme parks. Upon maturing capabilities here, he joined Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Mike stayed there for five years monitoring diverse projects. After growing his excellence in multiple companies, he landed at Langham Hospitality Group where he currently focuses his seasoned skills in career and talent development.

Often regarded as the cream of the crop, high performers have their set of drawbacks that need careful management. Leaders engage in different acts of encouragement to keep high-performing employees occupied to pace themselves and emphasize sustainable contributions. Mike Fong propagates strategic guidance and consistent support to foster these talented individuals. He highlights the pitfalls of high performers and the role of leaders in mitigating them to grow collectively.

On leading the talent pool

High performers can be a manager's dream. Give them a goal and they will do whatever it takes to meet or exceed it. Managing high performers enables leaders to pave the way for organizations' strongest talent. By strategically helping these talents grow and expand their responsibilities, a significant impact may be seen on the future of an organization. “Know who you are managing” is an important tip for establishing sound talent management.

Here are the four most common challenges or roadblocks leaders may encounter when managing high performers.

Keeping them occupied

Firstly, they tend to get impatient. High performers learn quickly and grasp difficult concepts faster than the average employee. The truth is, they're often eager and ready to tackle the next big thing. Without something new to capture their attention, they may get impatient or even bored. When managing high performers like this, it is important to be prepared for tricky and advanced tasks.

“Those who manage high performers need to recognize this challenge. It is advised to gently remind them to pace themselves and think about their contributions on a larger scale.”

Keeping them organized

Secondly, high performers are often perfectionists. In their minds, failure is unacceptable so they will do whatever it takes to reach a goal. The problem is they may end up putting too much pressure on themselves. If they're struggling to get the results, they might begin neglecting their health. Working unusually for long hours, repeatedly skipping meals or exercise and sacrificing their well-being might enable them to meet short-term deadlines but harm their long-run productivity and performance. Those who manage high performers need to recognize this challenge. It is advised to gently remind them to pace themselves and think about their contributions on a larger scale. They cannot optimally work if they're burned out or run down.

Keeping them interdependent

Thirdly, they may tend to be overly independent. High performers have likely succeeded in the past by being self-motivated and self-sufficient. That's how they consistently outperform their peers which means they may view those colleagues as competitors. If that attitude goes unchecked, it could create tension and breed a jealous work environment among team members. If they want to be successful in the long term, they will need to recognize the importance of developing connections and working more collaboratively. Their managers cannot merely rely on their independent drive and must develop their awareness of interdependency.

Keeping them ethical

Finally, high performers may think that results outweigh standard protocol or ethics. They may have used their “exceptional” production or contribution as an excuse for occasionally bending the rules. In other words, they intentionally ignore “Do the Right Things”. They might fail to submit revenue reports on time or manipulate the numbers on the report purposely. High performers need to understand and respect company standards and values.

In summary, knowing about them gives leaders a powerful head-start on handling them and managing top talent more successfully.