567: How to Lead and Retain High Performers, with Ruth Gotian

Ruth Gotian: The Success Factor

Ruth Gotian has been hailed by the journal Nature and Columbia University as an expert in mentorship and leadership development. In 2021, she was selected as one of 30 people worldwide to be named to the Thinkers50 Radar List, where she was described as a “Prolific mentor and educator, leading important research into the secrets of success.” She is a semi-finalist for the Forbes 50 Over 50 list and has coached and mentored hundreds of people throughout her career.

In addition to being published in academic journals, Ruth is a contributor to Forbes and Psychology Today, where she writes about optimizing success. She is the Chief Learning Officer in Anesthesiology and former Assistant Dean of Mentoring and Executive Director of the Mentoring Academy at Weill Cornell Medicine, where she is a faculty member. Ruth is the author of The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance*.

In this conversation, Ruth and I discuss how leaders can genuinely connect with (and retain) their top performers. We explore the difference these employees make in organizations and what’s unique about how they approach work and their careers. Ruth then suggests a number of practical steps to engage high performers genuinely to develop them well and benefit the entire organization.

Key Points

• High achievers can produce up to 400 percent more than the average employee.
• Promotions, diplomas, and awards may be starting points for high performers, but they are not ending points. Leading high performers well requires you to align with their intrinsic motivation.
• Offer high performers opportunities for exposure with visibility to senior leadership, strengths assignments, and decision-making.
• Provide autonomy to high performers. For them, the chase is as exciting as the win. They fear not trying more than failing.
• Recognize that internal professional development programs may not be sufficient for the demands of high performers. Support external opportunities they identify and connect with them during and after those experiences to further their learning (and yours).

Bonus Audio

• How to maximize the benefit of sending high achievers to conferences

Resources Mentioned

• The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance* by Ruth Gotian

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

• Six Ways Teaching Adults is Different than Teaching Kids (episode 3)
• What High Performers Aren’t Telling You, with Scott Anthony Barlow (episode 466)
• How to Multiply Your Impact, with Liz Wiseman (episode 554)

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