Don’t Burn Out Your MVPs: How Smart Leaders Keep and Multiply their High Performers

Close your eyes and picture the one person on your team you’d clone in a heartbeat. Got them? Good. Now obviously, cloning is off the table (we’ll update this blog when it’s finally a viable option). So let’s talk about what you can do instead.

If you’re a leader right now, your two questions are:

1. How can I optimize the team I have today—especially my high performer?
2. How can I get one or two more people operating at that next level?
   

The first step: stop overloading your MVP. The second: start developing your bench.

Let’s dig in.

Your High Performers Are Burning Out. You Need to Move—Now.

We know that many organizations are being asked to do more with less. Your high performer is likely carrying the majority of productivity. Have you heard the stat 20% of your people are doing 80% of the work? It’s not hypothetical, we see it happening in real-time. And your high performer? They’re feeling it. Yet they’re only hearing:

• “You’re amazing, thank you!”
• “You always come through.”
• “Please keep doing what you’re doing.”

Helpful feedback? Maybe at first. But let’s be honest: it’s not development. It’s dependence.

High performers are human. They don’t want gold stars—they want growth:

• More mastery
• More challenge
• More meaningful impact

If they’re starting to feel like they’re carrying the load while others skate by, that spells big trouble. Resentment builds. And when high performers get frustrated and bored, they don’t stick around.

Here’s the truth: They don’t need more work. They need the right work.

Think of your top performer like a high-performance engine: they need the right mix of fuel.  If you’re only feeding them urgency and gratitude, you’re starving their motivation. Want to know what really fuels them? The Predictive Index can tell you. You just have to use it.

The High Performer Health Check

Let’s make this easy. Ask yourself:

✅ Could I write down what motivates my top person? 

✅ Are they doing enough of that to stay lit up?
✅ Can I tee up energizing work 3–4 months out?
✅ Am I checking in meaningfully—not just letting them grind solo?
✅ Have I told them (specifically) what they’re doing that works?
✅ Are their development goals tied to impact? (Do they know why their work matters?)

If you’re blanking on any of these, it’s time to re-engage.

Build a Bench: Your Hidden Heavy Hitters

The easiest way to protect your MVP? Develop your next one.

Look across your team: Who’s good, steady, capable—and quietly ready for more? Find the “average performers with untapped potential.” The undiscovered heavy hitters. The ones who need a nudge and an opportunity—not a micromanager or a motivational poster.

Start here:

• What are their strengths?
• What do they want to master?
• What do they need to grow?
  

Important: They’re probably not motivated the same way you are. Or the same way your current MVP is. That’s where behavioral data from PI helps you get it right.

And remember the 70-20-10 rule for development? 70% of learning happens on the job. So pick two good performers. Identify the skill they need. Match it to a real stretch assignment. Then get out of the way.

How to Take Action

Everybody is busy, we get it. So here are quick, straightforward action items that will get you results without breaking your back.

1. Identify 1–2 “up-and-comers” on your team
2. Read their PI results to understand what drives them
3. Find a real project or task that will grow their skills
4. Highlight one action you can take this week
5. In the next 60 days, have two development conversations

Don’t try to “nail it.” Just start.

Your high performers are priceless. But they’re not infinite.

If you want to keep them—and build more like them—you’ve got to show up differently. No cloning machine required. Just data, development, and leadership that actually leads.

Because the kind of team that shows up strong on Monday? That starts with you showing up smarter today.