5 Steps to Motivating Your Star Performers

A talented follower is a blessing or curse for any leader. This person is someone who can go one step above the rest of the team and the performance is noticed by people across the organization.

Unfortunately, this same star can rest on the laurels. He or she may not feel the need to put forth any more effort than necessary. It could be trouble for any leader because only average performance might result in a loss.

Gifted team members sometimes live in the here and now. They know their success and the type of skills which got them where they are currently. It seems logical that the same traits will continue to generate success and they see no reason to change (if the wheel ain't broke, don't fix it.).

As a leader, you are confronted with a sizable task; motivating a star performer to move out of his or her comfort zone. I am suggesting these steps to take in getting that person to the next level.

You will have to take some time to understand your team members better and find out what inspires them to move forward. It is not enough to do one five-minute session; this is an ongoing study.

By knowing better who it is you are leading the more successful you will be in developing motivational techniques that push them forward. You should actively seek input and opinions from him or her in the process.

Old school leading involves telling a follower what to do and then reprimanding that individual when he or she does not do it. That really is not very effective.

It is more important to explain why certain things must be done, and why the follower is being asked to do it. It is acceptable to explain that what they're doing is going to help them give an even better performance.

Some leaders will be reluctant to praise a star performers, thinking that it will give the individual a swelled head. It is unfair not to praise somebody if they earned it. Regardless of the type of team member, if performance was exemplary in a competition then praise is worthwhile.

Earned praise lets a star know that even though you expect a great deal from their performance, an outstanding effort will not go unnoticed. It can stimulate a desire to continue to compete at a higher level.

Promoting self-motivation takes some of the load off the leader’s back. It means the team member is pushing himself or herself forward.

The best way a leader can encourage self-motivation is by setting goals. These are benchmarks to which a star performer can aspire. They will encourage a person to go above and beyond a comfort zone.

It is essential for you to set realistic goals (a great sports example is improving your finishing time in a race by one second and rewarding achieving them (a verbal pat on the back is usually enough).

Creating a system of goals, with each other a little bit higher than the last one, inspires individual performance to be even better.

There is no “I” in team and the message is important. A leader should make a strong point of telling any star performer that it was the performance of the team that caused a win, and not just the efforts of one person.

Stressing teamwork enhances peer motivation. The gifted team member can be inspired to perform at higher levels by encouragement from teammates. This person will, in turn, help urge other teammates to work harder.

Such internal group motivation is critical because one person rarely wins anything of significance. The team does it.

One's natural ability is no longer be sufficient in to maintain a competitive edge . All efforts to motivate a high achiever is going to benefit that person in the long run.

Motivation will stimulate the members of the team to work even harder and achieve greater levels of performance. Leaders can instill that winning edge in an already gifted individual by working on motivation.

It is true that the entire team needs motivational messages, but the point here is not to forget the person who is already a top performer. Additional encouragement makes the star shine even brighter.