Managing High Performers

Compensation and “What They’re Worth”

• Many agree that paying high performers well is necessary but insufficient.
• Several argue almost no wage workers, including tech, are paid what they generate; calls to “pay everyone what they’re worth” surface.
• Others reply that the market sets pay, and that upside belongs partly to capital-bearers and risk-takers.
• Disagreement over feasibility: some say “most companies can’t pay that much,” others say equity/ownership is the path if you want full upside.
• Debate over how realistic “just become a shareholder” is for people living precariously.

What High Performers Want From Managers

• Common theme: remove blockers, provide clarity, protect them from organizational nonsense, and advocate for raises and visibility.
• Many emphasize minimal “coaching”; high performers mostly self-direct and ask for help when needed.
• Respectful environment, interesting problems, autonomy, and work–life balance often valued as much as or more than maximum cash.
• High performers resent being overused, dragged into others’ roles, or having their time endlessly stretched, leading to burnout.

“Savior” Roles and Team Dynamics

• Letting one strong person “float and help” can create organizational dependence and a bus factor of one.
• Good help = mentoring and unblocking, not quietly finishing others’ work.
• Tension: some are punished for not immediately solving others’ problems, even when that harms long-term team growth.

High Performers vs. Large Organizations

• Some claim big tech and large corporations structurally suppress or misplace true high performers, rewarding politics over impact.
• Others inside such companies strongly disagree, citing teams full of very strong people with high pay and responsibility.
• Recognizing high performance is seen as hard in bureaucracies with constant reorgs and misaligned incentives.

Management Skill, Coaching, and Limitations

• Strong disagreement with the idea that high performers “cannot be managed”; many argue management is a distinct skill from technical performance.
• Sports analogies are debated but used to argue that great coaches aren’t always top former players.
• Several report that real coaching and mentorship are rare; many managers are promoted for technical ability but lack people-development skills.
• Some disabled and neurodivergent workers say they’ve requested coaching and received only superficial feedback.

Critiques of Management Advice Culture

• Multiple commenters see such articles as thinly veiled guides to extract more from “overproducers” until they burn out.
• Others object to the implied perfection of managers and pathologizing of reports, noting structural problems and underappreciation often drive “irritability.”