Great talent is the engine that propels our business forward. Talent who can see the opportunities the rest of us are blind to are essential for any company's future growth. They help our brands establish a meaningful place in the minds and hearts of our consumers. They differentiate us. Through challenging the status quo, they drive us forward. But, the high performers who create the most engaging content or conceive the most innovative ideas aren't always the easiest to work with. In fact, they can be the cause of many knuckle tightening moments and an unimaginable number of sleepless nights. Some managers would just prefer not to have them around. However, that is often the quickest way to build a mediocre team.

Managing high performers with difficult personalities is one of the hardest managerial challenges any leader faces. For some reason, I love it. I get energized when an opportunity presents itself for me to work with a'so-called difficult talent.'I always feel that you are walking along the edge of greatness, just waiting for their next disruptive idea to be born. It's scary and exhilarating. Personally I have always found it perplexing that so many managers have backed away from these difficult but high performers. I think it comes from the misguided belief that managers need to be able to control. Control everything. Difficult talent can't be controlled. At best they can be tamed and focused in the most productive direction.

Building a cohesive and highly functioning team is essential to achieving success in any organization. It is the collective and aligned contributions of the whole team that drives performance and propels you towards success. It seems obvious that you want to build a ...

Perseverance is something all winners have. It's not the ingredient that guarantees their success but without it there is no success. Perseverance is the energy that propels winners forward. You will not find success without possessing a high level of ...

I feel like there is an epidemic plaguing our workforce right now. Employees are eagerly -- often naively -- chasing that next job title too quickly. Employees appear obsessed with getting a new set of business cards. Something changed. I don't know when, but it did. ...

The alarm clock annoyingly buzzes. Loudly. Your first instinct is to pull the duvet up over your head. It doesn't help. Your mind is sluggish. Your body creaks. With very little coordination and too much disorientation you're on your feet. Wobbling. You march in a ...

"Weak foundations are the most common cause for an eventual collapse; and you can'teasilyfix the foundations once you've already started building!" I seem to remind others I work with (and myself) of this sentiment often. It has proven to be one of the most powerful ...

Programming a radio station is not an easy assignment. The program director (or brand director or content director -- there are so many labels for the role today) collaborates in the creation of the strategic plan and takes responsibility for its effective ...

"I want my people to be better. All of my people. I want to start with those who have the responsibility for coaching and developing other employees."Despite those words being delivered by a manager with a somewhat strident voice, the sentiment was refreshing to hear. ...

The best performers are positive. They have a fundamentally positive outlook on life. They laugh and smile more, they bitch and whine less and they are better at dealing with change. The law of attraction suggests that whatever you focus on most will create a ...

"Experience is often a weak predictor of performance." Those were the words I heard come tumbling from my lips and fill the emptiness of my office as I spoke with a colleague. Since uttering those words aloud I have found myself wondering why I arrived at such a ...