I have always liked the PAs, the Prima Donas. They may be hard to manage and don't always play by the rules, but they perform. Because they challenge authority and push the boundaries, they can find new opportunities. Where do you think Elon Musk fits in this matrix (as an employee, earlier in his career)? Was he a conformist, went along to get along?
They definitely can add value. However you have to be careful that they are not driving away other employees or making them feel like there are two sets of rules. Elon was and still is in the far upper left. However his actions have also caused a lot of people to leave his companies and has turned off many investors.
Wherever I have managed people, my superstars were always upper left. I had good every day employees who were on the right, but never upper right. I don't know that I have ever seen a conformist who hits it out of the park. But they would be nice to have if you could find them. No trouble at all. But I have had a couple who were in the middle: they did not always toe the line, but didn't like to rock the boat either. And they still performed. That is the ideal, I guess.
I have always liked the PAs, the Prima Donas. They may be hard to manage and don't always play by the rules, but they perform. Because they challenge authority and push the boundaries, they can find new opportunities. Where do you think Elon Musk fits in this matrix (as an employee, earlier in his career)? Was he a conformist, went along to get along?
They definitely can add value. However you have to be careful that they are not driving away other employees or making them feel like there are two sets of rules. Elon was and still is in the far upper left. However his actions have also caused a lot of people to leave his companies and has turned off many investors.
Wherever I have managed people, my superstars were always upper left. I had good every day employees who were on the right, but never upper right. I don't know that I have ever seen a conformist who hits it out of the park. But they would be nice to have if you could find them. No trouble at all. But I have had a couple who were in the middle: they did not always toe the line, but didn't like to rock the boat either. And they still performed. That is the ideal, I guess.