People Management

How do you manage your top performers differently?

Engineering ManagerML Engineering ManagerData Science ManagerData Engineering Manager

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Answers

Anonymous

4 months ago
4Strong
What I have noticed consistently about top performs in my teams is that they have a greater sense of ownership. They are also more passionate about the problem at hand. What I find helpful to keep this fire lit is to give them more space with the assurance of a safety net. I have this one highly motivated person on my current team. She thrives on creative problem solving. I let her work with our stakeholders directly with periodic check-ins to see if she needs any support or discuss the plan she is building. I also check in with my stakeholders to make sure, work is moving along and they are happy. If all goes well, I let her run things on her own. At the end of major milestones, I will ask her to do a demo or presentation on her project. This has a two-fold benefit: Firstly, she is building her brand as being a business problem solver and secondly, it holds the rest of the team to a higher standard that they see in action. I've seen a few junior or newer team mates take on more ownership having seen her set an example.

Anonymous

2 days ago
3.6Strong
In my Last few roles when i was leading/managing multiple project, i observed one thing about high performer they need complex problems, ownership and freedom to implement approaches which seems impossible.
As a manager, i have to ensure top performers are getting challenging work which keeps them motivated and also helps project to deliver new innovative ideas. In my managing style, i always categorize my team in multiple types, leaders, followers, challengers (top performers). I assign all complex and challenging work to top performers and frequently check with them if they are enjoying work and require any changes in case of feeling overwhelmed.
As a result top performers feel competitive and learn new things which keeps them happy and ahead in their field and this helps project to deliver complex work.

Anonymous

3 months ago
3.6Strong
Managing top performers is a very important work an EM needs to do.
The first thing I do is keeping the high performer motivated. I would have conversations around their career goals, what motivates them, what challenges they want to tackle and etc during our 1:1s. Based on those, I will make plans and assign the high performer to the right projects so they can get challenged , pushing them to grow more and make bigger impact while staying motivated.
The next thing I would do is making sure their work is being recognized. I will try to recognize their work publicly within the team, to stakeholders and leaderships. While this is something I actually do for everyone, I will especially make sure their works are being recognized and called out by stakeholders and leaderships.
One last thing I would do is making sure the high performer is not getting burned out. High performers cannot just keep high performing 100% of the time. I keep my eyes on their projects, their performances, and make sure to remind them manage their time and don't let them selves to burn out.
  • How do you manage your top performers differently?
  • Can you walk me through your approach to managing high-performing individuals on your team?
  • Can you describe how you handle top-performing employees differently from the rest of your team?
  • How do you ensure that your top performers continue to thrive and grow within your team?
  • Can you give an example of how you approach managing top talent on your team differently?
  • I'd love to hear about your strategy for managing top-performing individuals within your team.
  • Can you share your approach to managing and motivating your top employees?
  • I'm curious to know how you cater to the unique needs of your top performers on your team.
  • Can you describe your management style when it comes to handling high-performing employees?
  • How do you ensure that your top-performing employees are reaching their full potential within your team?
  • Can you walk me through how you approach the management of individuals on your team who consistently perform at a high level?
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Interview question asked to Data Engineering Managers, Data Science Managers, ML Engineering Managers and other roles interviewing at Razorpay, SeatGeek, ASML and others: How do you manage your top performers differently?.