Erin joined your team about a year ago. She came in with many other candidates for a job opening, and she impressed you during the interview. She was far and away the best candidate.

She has lived up to the high expectations she set in her interviews. She reduced the time it takes to deliver her service while improving her output’s quality. Since she reduced the time she needs to complete the main job you hired her to do, she’s been identifying new projects she can take on to help the team. Erin is a joy to lead, but she presents you with a big leadership challenge: Her talent means she could move on to bigger roles.

“Rising stars” like Erin are fantastic team members—while you have them.

Approaches for leading a rising star

For rising stars, use the “promote internally” approach.  The word “promote” has two meanings in this situation. No matter how much they like their current role on your team, you have to realize they aren’t  likely to remain in it for long and will be looking for their next big opportunity soon.

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