I don't believe there is any such thing as "B-player" or a mediocre human being. Everyone can be excellent at something.
The author suggests to evaluate team members based on two dimensions: performance and growth.
If overall performance is positive then employee is one of two types:
✔️ RockStar - people with gradual growth, they value stability, knowledge sharing, attention to the details.
✔️ SuperStar - people with steep growth, they quickly acquire new skills or rapidly develop existing ones. Superstars constantly increase their set of responsibilities and influence within the team.
If performance is negative, then it's the leader's job to understand what's wrong (you can check how to do that in Why Don’t People Do What You Expect post). In some cases the best solution is allow the person to leave the team or company.
One really important thought that I hadn't considered before is that these labels (rockstar, superstar, low performer) are not permanent and can change over time. For example, when I started to work in IT company right after university, I spent a lot of efforts to my career growth. Then, I had a child, my priorities changed. I needed stability, flexible schedule and enough free time for the family. Later, when my kid grew older, I was ready to take new ambitious and challenging tasks again.
That's why it's so important to know your team and their current life priorities. A leader's job isn't about giving the meaning for the work but to understand what meaning each employee seeks in it. Only in that case you can help people to grow.
#booknook #softskills #leadership #communications