On occasion, I come across some research or insight that is so counter-intuitive, it makes me question the progress I've made in my quest to understand people. Earlier this week, I had one of those moments.

It came when I read an article written by Dr. John Sullivan, a well-known thought leader in the world of Human Resource consulting and a professor at San Francisco State University. This article deals with the topic of succession planning in large organizations.

While this is not normally a topic that would interest the typical real estate manager who manages a single office, the insight came in how Dr. Sullivan suggests that business leaders communicate with the "high-potential" members (he affectionately calls these individuals "HiPos") of their organizations.

The conventional wisdom is that these HiPos should be identified early and given a bunch of encouragement when their above-average performance starts to emerge. I've often heard comments like this when I've spoken with real estate managers:

"Let me introduce you to Roger…he's closed more transactions in his first six months on our team than any agent we've ever had!"

or

"If I just had more new agents like Jill our office wouldn't be in a slump. She runs circles around most of the people who have been here for years."

or

"Why can't more of our agents be like Jason? He comes in here and operates like a true professional. And look at the results! We need more people like him."

Of course, all these comments come from a hiring/selection perspective because my conversations with managers typically focus on this topic. But, they reveal an attitude that is very prevalent among real estate companies: When someone comes along that quickly performs at a high level, the tendency is to first marvel at such a thing and then hold that person up as an example.

At this point, Dr. Sullivan suggests that we may be shooting ourselves (and our organizations) in the foot. When a person starts to figure out they are a HiPo, all types of strange behavior tends to ensue. Here is an abbreviated list of the potential impacts on the individual and the team:

1. The probability of losing this person to a competitor increases. If you tell employees that they are high-potentials, it is highly likely the news will spread both inside and outside the organization.
2. Increased frustration and turnover if early success and perceived opportunites don't materialize. Acknowledgement leads to expectations, and unfortunately opportunities do not always materialize as planned.
3. Employees may not take development efforts seriously. If the HiPo is aware of their status, they may not see the value in actively self-improving. In addition, they may not take full advantage of any improvement and development opportunities offered.
4. Reduced effort after “making it.” Following acknowledgement, the HiPo may expect things to happen automatically, going into coast mode as they assume their future is set.
5. Ego issues. Notifying HiPos lets them know they are valuable, but may also create an ego boost that results in a change in behavior (i.e. arrogance, sense of entitlement, etc.)
6. Frustration among those not designated. As managers identify HiPos (directly or through subtle comments like the examples above) other agents may react unfavorably. If the informal designation process is viewed by other agents as biased or not fair, these factors could lead to reduced productivity and increased turnover.
7. There may be sabotage. A HiPo could face subtle or direct attacks from individuals who feel that they don’t deserve the designation. Once identified, others within a competitive organization may work to slow them down or even sabotage them out of bitterness.

[Dr. Sullivan identifies another nine risks if you care to read more on this topic]

As this list of concerns and issues illustrates, successfully dealing with those under your care and nurturing is rarely straight-forward and easy to understand…and, the HiPos are an especially challenging lot.

The lesson here is to treat everyone on your team with respect and provide as much thoughtful insight and encouragement as possible. Try to discern what every person needs and customize your assistance to each indivual. And finally, understand the risks of elevating one person (especially if the individual is a new HiPo) over the others on the team. Encouragement and praise is necessary and good, but make sure it is not administered in a way that creates divisions.

Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.