By Lisa Martin & Betsy Jordyn

The 1980 musical “Fame” follows the journey of four talented students who were attending the New York City High School for the Performing Arts, which is known for turning out highly successful performers. The audition process portrayed was rigorous, separating the best of the best. There were no apologies for how tough the school was on aspiring talent. In fact, dance teacher Lydia Grant explains the purpose for the rigor best when she says, “You’ve got big dreams? You want fame? Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying in sweat.”

The tagline to the movie was: “If they’ve really got what it takes, it’s going to take everything they’ve got.” To someone who doesn’t have what it takes, those are the words of a harsh taskmaster. But to someone who has what it takes, who has the right stuff, those words are the sounds of inspiration. Top talent, the ones we call Rising Stars, interpret those words as, “someone gets it…gets how hungry I am to push myself beyond my own limits.”

If you are going to draw in and draw out the best of the best talent, you have to understand that they are not wired like other employees and thus need something different from you. To attract and develop talent of this caliber, you need to raise your own game and find new ways of leading that you may not have considered before. You will have to challenge your current paradigms and dig deep down to new leadership wells inside yourself. But, like your Rising Stars, if you as a leader (Rising Manager or Rising Executive) really have what it takes, it’s going to take everything you have to lead them and your organization to greatness.

Spotting Rising Stars

Rising Stars are those unique individuals with exceptional promise. They outperform in comparison to their peers time and time again.

Rising Stars possess the following attributes in greater measure:

Rising Stars are hungry. They have a deep drive and a passion to grow, learn, improve and contribute. They are driven to make a difference and to have an impact. They seem to have a drive and energy the source of which is completely unseen.

Rising Stars, more than likely have always been Rising Stars in some form or fashion. They find arenas to express their talent, sometimes in the classroom, sometimes on the ball field and sometimes on stage. Rising Stars can be found in every field of interest. What makes someone a Rising Star is not so much what they know or even what they do, but how they do it. Their can-do attitude is a significant factor that sets them apart.

Bringing out the Best in Rising Stars

The key to bringing out the best in Rising Stars is to treat them according to who they are and what they contribute. You need to treat them differently than other employees…because your Rising Stars are different and they have different needs. They do not need what other employees need in terms of direction and support, and they more than likely have no use for traditional management methods.

If you want to draw in and draw out Rising Stars, you will need to incorporate as many aspects of Talent Gravity as possible into your work environment and the work experience of your Rising Stars. Talent Gravity represents the key aspects of a workplace that attract and retain the best of the best:

Conducive Environment: Rising Stars grow best by associating with other successful people. They need to work with and for other Rising Stars who will recognize their uniqueness and challenge them to grow to the next level. That is why the students of “Fame” worked hard to be accepted into the unique performing arts school. They needed the expertise that could be found there like a drowning person needs air or a thirsty person needs water.

Core Scores: Tell a Rising Star what needs to be accomplished – key outcomes – and then get out of their way. Remember, they do not like being told how to do something, that it is in fact a de-motivator. Give your Rising Stars core scores, both to reflect what you need for them to accomplish for your company and to stretch them beyond their current capacity.

Capital Resources: When you stretch your Rising Stars to new limits and challenge them to impossible goals, you need to provide them with the resources (financial, technological or educational) they need to achieve those goals. Give them what they truly need but not everything they ask for, because they will find a way to strategically leverage whatever it is they are provided.

Communication: First, tell your Rising Stars that they are Rising Stars. Second, keep them in the know. Tell them what is happening that will affect their ability to deliver on and exceed expectations. Give them unique opportunities to provide their input. Invite them to focus groups. Solicit their thoughts on an initiative before rolling it out. You will find that the more you do this; the better engaged your Rising Stars will be and the better your information will be.

Cultivate their Strengths: Rising Stars must grow. They firmly believe the truism in nature that everything is either growing or dying…and for them, becoming stagnant is not an option. So give them a steady diet of stretch assignments and growth opportunities. Expose them to resources, mentors and anything else that will satisfy their curiosity and intrinsic passion for continuous improvement. Unleash this drive onto the organization and release them to find ways to improve your results.

In addition, help your Rising Stars define and articulate their career brand and paths. Rising Stars have a greater variety of options than their peers and should be encouraged to explore those options. And once their path is chosen, affirm and support that trajectory.

Compensate for Results: Rising Stars are mostly motivated by their internal drive to accomplish, and they want to know that what they did made a difference. Compensation is important, but in many cases it’s more about the grade. They want to receive “A’s” and to be recognized for their exceptional contributions. Find ways to reward these individuals, monetarily and otherwise, for the value they bring to the organization instead of merely for the time they put into their work.

Catching Rising Stars

The formula for attracting and retaining Rising Stars is simple. If your organization does what it takes to maintain Talent Gravity, Rising Stars will come and stay. If your organization does not, your Rising Stars will leave and you will have great difficulty in attracting new Rising Stars. Even in tight labor markets, Rising Stars will find a way to become successful. If they cannot find an organization that can leverage their talents, they will start their own company. Whatever it takes, they will figure out a way to create opportunities and new markets.

Your retention strategy needs to be about creating a feeling of being attracted to your organization (hence the gravity analogy) vs. the feeling of being obligated to it. You want Rising Stars to stay with your organization because they truly desire to be there. You don’t want these individuals to stay because they feel they are under duress or are obligated to do so. In that type of environment, the shine of your Rising Stars will grow dull and they will become even more frustrated and frustrating than your non-Rising Stars.

The Top Line

Your Rising Stars contribute to your organization’s achievement of stellar results in two ways. First, their outstanding performance meets and exceeds customer expectations and business results time and time again, and they create innovative ideas that either make or save money. Second, and more importantly, they inspire others around them to seek out and achieve new heights. Their can-do attitude can be catching when others see a vision for the impossible becoming possible.

When you draw in and draw out the best of the best, you, too, will become greater than you imagined possible. If you embrace the opportunity to lead this kind of an individual, you will be better for it. Your leadership will reach new levels of strength and you will have the satisfaction of helping someone else surpass their potential.

Your Rising Stars are not the only ones who want to do more and be more than they imagined possible. Deep down, so do you. Seize the opportunity to challenge yourself to be the best Rising Manager or Rising Executive that you can be. As Irene Cara’s aspiring student said in ”Fame,” “You ain’t seen the best of me yet. Give me time I’ll make you forget the rest. I got more in me… and you (the Rising Manager and Rising Executive) can set it free.”

© Copyright 2011. Lisa Martin and Betsy Jordyn. All rights reserved.