Leading a Rock Star


As you grow and lead a few direct reports or a group of employees, work to surround yourself with talent. It’s great to work with smart and engaged people. What happens when one or tow of those people are real rock stars? It’s great that you’re humble enough to recognize the luck you have to lead them. Here’s your opportunity to grow, as a leader, as well.

Back when I was less of a Candid Colonel and more of a doe eyed Lieutenant my first job was to lead a phenomenal group of 27 skilled Soldiers with highly technical skills. Here I was, a political science major, leading people with a depth of knowledge in radio frequency wave and signals intercept. One employee even had a degree in physics! I was so out of my comfort zone. Yet just like you now, there’s true opportunity in this.

First by recognizing the genius you have in front of you, this is a great time to work to develop their talent. From your perch you can see a broader scope. You’ll recognize the interplay and areas where you talented people can move forward and thrive. Development means you also get to take your rock star from a local venue to a greater regional circuit. That means you’ll encourage this person to keep going and growing. The vast body of evidence points to the criticality of spending quality leadership time with your best employees. Play to your strength and invest in the winning portfolio. Don’t just let them go forward, you need to encourage these people.

Secondly, you’ve got to create opportunities. Because of where you are at you can creatively work to find greater environments for your star employee to flourish. Moving your rock star from regional recognition to a national one. Challenging this talented employee to multiply their skills through new projects helps them grow. Problems are often golden opportunities to solve. Engage your rock star to focus on hard problems.

Lastly, true rock stars start to seek bigger and better things. To keep this person psyched and to keep them rocking on your team requires a lot of mentoring. You want to open doors to greater responsibilities. You can work hard to raise your rock star to the international level. They’ll sense your aggressive support and appreciate the continued backing.

What a great position to find yourself in as you’ve now leading a rock star. Following the steps provided by Colonel Candid will not only help take your employee to the next level, but it will grow your skills as well. Develop the talent, create opportunities, and open doors for your rock stars and by doing so, you’ll find your greatness.
Location: Washington, DC, USA

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