Management is hard. Duh. But the single toughest thing may be the fact that the best way to manage top talent is almost completely at odds with managing average talent. Whereas average talent feels distress when pushed beyond their limits, top talent feels eustress. Whereas average talent values stability, top talent values instability (to the upside, also known as growth). Whereas being bored is a feature for average talent (time to pursue other interests), being bored is the quickest way to drive top talent to the exit doors. Whereas bringing a problem without a solution alarms average talent, waiting until you have the solution to bring top talent the problem is just asking them to abandon you. And I could go on. The problem: The vast majority of 'good management' teaching is about management at scale. Translation: managing average talent. For managing top talent, sometimes I think the direction is as simple as "read the top management book, and then do the exact opposite."
