Managing a workforce with varied skillsets can be an obstacle for businesses of any size. Here are three tips for navigating this challenge. Photo via Getty Images

As each person is uniquely different, their capabilities are directly reflected in the workplace in terms of how work is delegated to high performing, standard performing and underperforming employees based on their skill sets. For some employees, they thrive when being recognized as the individual who is trusted to always get the job done or complete a last-second task. Meanwhile, other employees may struggle with execution or efficiency, which may mean fewer new assignments for them.

Experienced managers will be able to decipher what is wrong in this scenario. Although it has become a societal norm to assign added work to high performers as a reward, this well-meaning intention can ultimately lead to performance punishments. As the overachievers are “awarded,” the average or below average performers are not placed in conditions that will push them beyond their comfort levels nor to their personal optimal performance capacity. This tactic is also referred to as a “quiet promotion,” in which top performers are given additional work without the benefit of a promotion or increased compensation.

“Quiet promotion” can have severe repercussions for top performers such as increased stress and burnout, which can subsequently lead to lowered productivity. According to a 2022 study by the American Institute of Stress, 76 percent of workers reported that stress harms their overall productivity. To avoid unintentional performance punishments, managers can implement opportunities for continual skill development, provide more balanced workloads and practice honest communication.

Create spaces to develop skills

Yearly reviews are a critical opportunity for managers to highlight their employees’ achievements and identify areas for improvement. However, a formal review is not the only time employees should receive praise or constructive criticism from their managers.

Managers have a more accurate scope of which skills the employee may lack and can assign development opportunities when they touch base with employees throughout the year. This creates a level field for performers to feel eager for development opportunities, and candidates who perform at a lower level will benefit, too. When a culture of continuous development is cultivated, it keeps top performers engaged and mitigates the sense of needing to catch up for those on a development track.

Encourage collaboration

While top performers can complete tasks without additional support, collaboration with colleagues at all levels can elevate work across the board. Partnering top performers with those who may need to fine-tune and develop relevant skills allows top performers to improve their leadership and training skills while building trusting relationships within the team or organization. Group collaboration allows employees to discover and hone their strengths and identify weaknesses so even better work is done together.

Implement honest communication

Top performers, more often than not, work above set expectations. When top performers feel they are due for a promotion as a result of their performance, but have not received it or are overlooked, a once content employee might consider searching for a new job. To avoid potential dispirited employees and impromptu resignations, managers should practice clear and effective communication with their team.

Whether during a yearly review or a biweekly check-in, take the time to ask top performers directly about where they see themselves now, where they would like to go within the organization and whether a promotion is on their radar. In a transparent and open culture, employees will feel more inclined to be outspoken about their intentions. Those who are exploring the idea of moving on will give their manager the opportunity to present other opportunities, advocate for a deserved promotion or articulate a detailed career path to reach the desired position.

Performance punishments are often unintentional, but managers need to be aware the practice can ultimately cause a disconnect within their team and burnout with their top talent. With continual opportunities for skill development, distribution of balanced workloads and transparent communication, managers can lead everyone on their team to growth and success.

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Karen Leal is performance specialist with Houston-based Insperity, a provider of human resources offering a suite of scalable HR solutions available in the marketplace.

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Chevron enters the lithium market with major Texas land acquisition

to market

Chevron U.S.A., a subsidiary of Houston-based energy company Chevron, has taken its first big step toward establishing a commercial-scale lithium business.

Chevron acquired leaseholds totaling about 125,000 acres in Northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources. The acreage contains a high amount of lithium, which Chevron plans to extract from brines produced from the subsurface.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in an array of technologies, such as smartwatches, e-bikes, pacemakers, and batteries for electric vehicles, according to Chevron. The International Energy Agency estimates lithium demand could grow more than 400 percent by 2040.

“This acquisition represents a strategic investment to support energy manufacturing and expand U.S.-based critical mineral supplies,” Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies, said in a news release. “Establishing domestic and resilient lithium supply chains is essential not only to maintaining U.S. energy leadership but also to meeting the growing demand from customers.”

Rania Yacoub, corporate business development manager at Chevron New Energies, said that amid heightening demand, lithium is “one of the world’s most sought-after natural resources.”

“Chevron is looking to help meet that demand and drive U.S. energy competitiveness by sourcing lithium domestically,” Yacoub said.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapital.

International Space Station welcomes astronauts from successful Axiom Mission 4

Out In Space

The first astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, ferried there by SpaceX on a private flight.

The crew of four will spend two weeks at the orbiting lab, performing dozens of experiments. They launched Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

America’s most experienced astronaut, Peggy Whitson, is the commander of the visiting crew. She works for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the chartered flight.

Besides Whitson, the crew includes India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, a pilot in the Indian Air Force; Hungary’s Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer; and Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, a radiation expert and one of the European Space Agency’s project astronauts on temporary flight duty.

No one has ever visited the International Space Station from those countries before. The time anyone rocketed into orbit from those countries was in the late 1970s and 1980s, traveling with the Soviets.

“It’s an honor to have you join our outpost of international cooperation and exploration," NASA's Mission Control radioed from Houston minutes after the linkup high above the North Atlantic.

The new arrivals shared hugs and handshakes with the space station's seven full-time residents, celebrating with drink pouches sipped through straws. Six nations were represented: four from the U.S., three from Russia and one each from Japan, India, Poland and Hungary.

"It’s so great to be here finally. It was a long quarantine," Whitson said, referring to the crew's extra-long isolation before liftoff to stay healthy.

They went into quarantine on May 25, stuck in it as their launch kept getting delayed. The latest postponement was for space station leak monitoring, NASA wanted to make sure everything was safe following repairs to a longtime leak on the Russian side of the outpost.

It's the fourth Axiom-sponsored flight to the space station since 2022. The company is one of several that are developing their own space stations due to launch in the coming years. NASA plans to abandon the International Space Station in 2030 after more than three decades of operation, and is encouraging private ventures to replace it.

Screen-free hiking app developed in Houston earns 'Best of the Best' award

Peak Prize

An AI-powered, screen-free hiking system developed by Varshini Chouthri, a recent industrial design graduate from the University of Houston, has received Red Dot’s “Best of the Best” award, which recognizes the top innovative designs around the world.

Known as NOMAD, the system aims to help users stay in the moment while still utilizing technology. It will go on to compete for the Red Dot Luminary Award, the highest recognition given at the international event.

“NOMAD was truly a passion project, inspired by years of hiking growing up, where the outdoors became a place of peace, challenge, and reflection,” Chouthri said in a news release.

“I wanted to design something supporting those kinds of experiences by helping hikers feel more grounded and confident while staying present in nature. It was a way to give back to the moments that made me fall in love with the outdoors in the first place.”

The app “reimagines” outdoor exploration by removing the dependence on screens by using adaptive AI, contextual sensing, and an optional, wearable companion device. It employs a circular learning model that enables hikers to receive real-time guidance, safety alerts, personalized trip planning, hands-free navigation and more through a natural interface, according to UH.

NOMAD was developed at the Hines College of Architecture and Design’s PXD LAB. In 2023, Lunet, developed by David Edquilang at Hines College, received the “Best of the Best” recognition and went on to win the Red Dot Luminary Award.

The PXD LAB offers a platform to expand concepts into system-level designs that address real-world challenges, according to UH.

“Varshini’s work on NOMAD exemplifies the future-focused, systems-driven thinking we promote in the Advanced UX Design curriculum,” Min Kang, director of PXD LAB, added in the release. “NOMAD goes beyond being just a product; it reimagines how technology can enhance outdoor exploration without disrupting the experience.”

In addition to the Red Dot honors, NOMAD has already earned distinction from the FIT Sport Design Awards and was a finalist for the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) presented by the Industrial Designers Society of America.