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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Texas female-founded companies raised more than $1 billion in 2024, VC data shows

by the numbers

Female-founded companies in Dallas-Fort Worth may rack up more funding deals and more money than those in Houston. However, Bayou City beats DFW in one key category — but just barely.

Data from PitchBook shows that in the past 16 years, female-founded companies in DFW collected $2.7 billion across 488 deals. By comparison, female-founded companies in the Houston area picked up $1.9 billion in VC through 343 deals.

Yet if you do a little math, you find that Houston ekes out an edge over DFW in per-deal values. During the period covered by the PitchBook data, the value of each of the DFW deals averaged $5.53 million. But at $5,54 million, Houston was just $6,572 ahead of DFW for average deal value.

Not surprisingly, the Austin area clobbered Houston and DFW.

During the period covered by the PitchBook data, female-founded companies in the Austin area hauled in $7.5 billion across 1,114 deals. The average value of an Austin deal: more than $6.7 million.

Historically, funding for female-established companies has lagged behind funding for male-established companies. In 2024, female-founded companies accounted for about one-fourth of all VC deals in the U.S., according to PitchBook.

PitchBook noted that in 2024, female-founded companies raised $38.8 billion, up 27 percent from the previous year, but deal count dropped 13.1 percent, meaning more VC for fewer startups. In Texas, female-founded companies brought in $1.3 billion last year via 151 deals. The total raised is the same as 2023, when Texas female founders got $1.3 billion in capital across 190 deals.

“The VC industry is still trying to find solid footing after its peak in 2021. While some progress was made for female founders in 2024, particularly in exit activity, female founders and investors still face an uphill climb,” says Annemarie Donegan, senior research analyst at PitchBook.

Here are 3 Houston innovators to know right now

Innovators to Know

Editor's note: These Houston innovators are making big strides in the fields of neurotechnology, neurodevelopmental diagnosis, and even improving the way we rest and recharge.

For our latest roundup of Innovators to Know, we meet a researcher who is working with teams in Houston and abroad to develop an innovative brain implant; a professor who has created an AI approach to diagnosis; and a local entrepreneur whose brand is poised for major expansion in the coming years.

Jacob Robinson, CEO of Motif Neurotech

Houston startup Motif Neurotech has been selected by the United Kingdom's Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) to participate in its inaugural Precision Neurotechnologies program. The program aims to develop advanced brain-interfacing technologies for cognitive and psychiatric conditions. Three Rice labs will collaborate with Motif Neurotech to develop Brain Mesh, which is a distributed network of minimally invasive implants that can stimulate neural circuits and stream neural data in real time. The project has been awarded approximately $5.9 million.

Motif Neurotech was spun out of the Rice lab of Jacob Robinson, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering and CEO of Motif Neurotech.

Robinson will lead the system and network integration and encapsulation efforts for Mesh Points implants. According to Rice, these implants, about the size of a grain of rice, will track and modulate brain states and be embedded in the skull through relatively low-risk surgery. Learn more.

Dr. Ryan S. Dhindsa, Dhindsa Lab

Dr. Ryan S. Dhindsa, assistant professor of pathology and immunology at Baylor and principal investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, and his team have developed an artificial intelligence-based approach that will help doctors to identify genes tied to neurodevelopmental disorders. Their research was recently published the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Dhindsa Lab uses “human genomics, human stem cell models, and computational biology to advance precision medicine.” The diagnoses that stem from the new computational tool could include specific types of autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy and developmental delay, disorders that often don’t come with a genetic diagnosis.

“Although researchers have made major strides identifying different genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, many patients with these conditions still do not receive a genetic diagnosis, indicating that there are many more genes waiting to be discovered,” Dhindsa says. Learn more.

Khaliah Guillory, Founder of Nap Bar

From nap research to diversity and inclusion, this entrepreneur is making Houston workers more productiveFrom opening Nap Bar and consulting corporations on diversity and inclusion to serving the city as an LGBT adviser, Khaliah Guillory is focused on productivity. Courtesy of Khaliah Guillory

Khalia Guillory launched her white-glove, eco-friendly rest sanctuary business, Nap Bar, in Houston in 2019 to offer a unique rest experience with artificial intelligence integration for working professionals, entrepreneurs and travelers who needed a place to rest, recharge and rejuvenate.

Now she is ready to take it to the next level, with a pivot to VR and plans to expand to 30 locations in three years.

Guillory says she’s now looking to scale the business by partnering with like-minded investors with experience in the wellness space. She envisions locations at national and international airports, which she says offer ripe scenarios for patrons needing to recharge. Additionally, Guillory wants to build on her initial partnership with UT Health by going onsite to curate rest experiences for patients, caregivers, faculty, staff, nurses and doctors. Colleges also offer an opportunity for growth. Learn more.

United breaks ground on $177 million facility and opens tech center at IAH

off the ground

United Airlines announced new infrastructure investments at George Bush Intercontinental Airport as part of the company’s ongoing $3.5 billion investment into IAH.

United broke ground on a new $177 million Ground Service Equipment (GSE) Maintenance Facility this week that will open in 2027.

The 140,000-square-foot GSE facility will support over 1,800 ground service vehicles and with expansive repair space, shop space and storage capacity. The GSE facility will also be targeted for LEED Silver certification. United believes this will provide more resources to assist with charging batteries, fabricating metal and monitoring electronic controls with improved infrastructure and modern workspaces.

Additionally, the company opened its new $16 million Technical Operations Training Center.

The center will include specialized areas for United's growing fleet, and advanced simulation technology that includes scenario-based engine maintenance and inspection training. By 2032, the Training Center will accept delivery of new planes. This 91,000-square-foot facility will include sheet metal and composite training shops as well.

The Training Center will also house a $6.3 million Move Team Facility, which is designed to centralize United's Super Tug operations. United’s IAH Move Team manages over 15 Super Tugs across the airfield, which assist with moving hundreds of aircraft to support flight departures, remote parking areas, and Technical Operations Hangars.

The company says it plans to introduce more than 500 new aircraft into its fleet, and increase the total number of available seats per domestic departure by nearly 30%. United also hopes to reduce carbon emissions per seat and create more unionized jobs by 2026.

"With these new facilities, Ground Service Equipment Maintenance Facility and the Technical Operations Training Center, we are enhancing our ability to maintain a world-class fleet while empowering our employees with cutting-edge tools and training,” Phil Griffith, United's Vice President of Airport Operations, said in a news release. “This investment reflects our long-term vision for Houston as a critical hub for United's operations and our commitment to sustainability, efficiency, and growth."