Star employees are fantastic…until they aren’t

by. Anthony Demangone

My dad is turning 80 years old this year.  Born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, my father has been a life-long Steelers fan.  His last Steelers home game? Sixty years ago. 

We remedied that problem last weekend. My mom and dad, and yours truly, witnessed the Steelers squeak out a win against the Baltimore Ravens.

Pops, savoring the win after the game.

During the pre-game warm-ups, the Steelers head coach trotted across the field.  He stopped and chatted with players and assistant coaches.  And for the first time, perhaps because I was watching it in person, I realized how tough his job must be…

He manages athletes.  Many of whom are labeled “star” athletes.  Many of whom make more money than he does. 

My guess is that most of you are not in Coach Tomlin’s shoes.  But you likely have a few stars in your stable. Luckily, most of them aren’t seen on TV on a regular basis.

Star athletes, and star employees should be living on easy street, right?  A recent article argues that this isn’t always the case. (The Fast Track.)  It lays out five common mistakes made by “star” employees.  Many of these mistakes flow from a major workplace problem: ego.  The star employee starts to figure out that she is a star, the ego kicks in, and then things go south.  Here are the five mistakes made by star employees, according to the article.

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