Design For Humans, Not Idols

When it comes to talent and making the most of it in the workplace, I’ve seen two frameworks do well (there may be other and I’d love to learn):

• Understanding that people make mistakes no matter how hard they try and build processes and systems that allow for a human level mistake or error rate without harming the objective or other people

• Understanding that sometimes you need outstanding performance, creating a work schedule, workplace environment (physical as well as norms and rules), and a talent acquisition to get the best people and make sure they have everything they need to be their best

Of course, these two aren’t mutually exclusive. There is also more you could add. 

What I see as important is that you shouldn’t knowingly set people up not to meet your expectations. Individuals need support and time and room to grow. I don’t understand why you would ever hire someone you don’t trust or aren’t willing to train and develop. If you need someone with a massive amount of expertise and a low error rate, screen them really really hard and pay the price they require. Highly talented and optimized people are always a great return on investment if a company allows them to be. If an individual is a great fit, passionate at the work, work doesn’t require absolute wizardry for the company to be successful, and you have the answers and processes to develop them, then do it. But trust has to be there, trust that they are a capable human that wants to do well.

Trust in greatness, in idols, in perfection is a dangerous and stressful chase. It doesn’t to be that way in the workplace, especially when you can design your workplace for humans, not idols.