High performers are often described as “stars”. They deliver results, bring energy, and raise the bar for everyone around them.
And yet, if not supported carefully, they can also create imbalance, dependency, or frustration inside a team.
In this episode of Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership, I had the great pleasure of welcoming Frank Jansen to explore how leaders can support high performers while building strong, resilient teams.
Rock Stars and Superstars
Our conversation builds on a distinction introduced by Kim Scott in her book Radical Candor.
- Rock Stars are a source of stability.
They are highly skilled, reliable, and happy to contribute at a high level over time. - Superstars are a source of growth.
They want to learn fast, change things, and move to their next level of impact.
Both profiles are valuable. Problems arise when leaders expect everyone to behave the same way or reward only one type of contribution.
Supporting growth without creating heroes
Frank shares how he supports the growth of people in his team without creating a hero culture.
We discuss:
- how to recognize different aspirations without ranking people
- how to build diversity of profiles and strengths
- how to avoid over-relying on a few individuals
- how to make growth a collective topic rather than an individual negotiation
The goal is not to control talent, but to create conditions where people can grow responsibly.
Creating a fearless, self-managing team
A central theme of the conversation is the idea of a fearless organization.
Frank explains how he works to create an environment where:
- people feel safe to speak up
- responsibility is shared rather than centralized
- the team is able to manage itself
- results emerge from collaboration, not pressure
When these conditions are in place, performance becomes sustainable and teams can achieve remarkably strong results.
A final thought
Supporting high performers is not about giving special treatment. It is about understanding different motivations and designing an environment where both stability and growth are valued.
If you are leading a team with strong individual contributors and wondering how to help them thrive without weakening the collective, this episode will give you practical perspectives and concrete inspiration.an even record the answer together!
Where to listen:
Le Podcast – Season Two
- Playful Leadership: Helping Others Be Their Best
- Blessed, Grateful, and Human
- Build the Right Product, with Gojko Adzic
- Hiring and Diversity Without Dropping the Bar
- Leadership and Teamwork in a Crisis
- Chief of Staff: The Role, the Craft, the Community
- Belonging, Identity, and Better Hiring,
- What Software Teams Can Learn from Sporting Teams
- Agile and Open Innovation: Building the Bridge Between Tech and Business
- Radical Focus: OKRs, Cadence, and the “Seduction of the Task”
- Human-Centric Agility Coaching: The Expert Paradox and the Ideology Paradox
- The Job of an Open Leader: Context, Trust, and Growing Others
Le Podcast – Season One
- Growing as a Software Engineer: Learning, Sharing, and Impact
- Thirteen Rules for Building Strong Teams
- OKRs in Practice: Learning, Focus, and Common Pitfalls
- The Myth of 10x Engineers: Growing Beyond Technical Skills
- The Anatomy of Peace: Leadership Starts With Who You Are
- Psychological Safety: Creating Teams Where People Can Speak Up
- Leading Distributed Teams: Collaboration Across Time Zones
- Changing Your Team from the Inside: A Practitioner’s View on Leadership
- Why Shared Language Matters: How Terms Shape Collaboration
- How (Not) to Give Feedback: Responsibility, Ego, and Relationships
- Rock Stars and Superstars: Supporting Growth Without Losing Stability
- Do Cultural Differences Really Block Agile Adoption?
- How to Create Great Goals: Using OKRs to Focus on Impact
- Making Change from the Inside: Leadership Beyond Management Roles
- How to Form a Cross-Functional Team That Actually Works
