Rock Stars and Superstars Growth Management
Manage growth trajectories, not talent labels, to build stable high-performing teams
This framework replaces the traditional talent management approach (which permanently labels people as high-potential or low-potential) with a growth management model that recognizes people move between different trajectories throughout their careers and lives. The two key archetypes are Rock Stars (excellent performers on a gradual growth trajectory who provide stability) and Superstars (excellent performers on a steep growth trajectory who drive change).
The critical insight is that both types are equally valuable to a team, and a healthy team needs a balance of both. Rock Stars are the foundation that keeps everything running, like the Rock of Gibraltar. Superstars are the engines of growth who would go crazy doing the same job for more than a year. The mistake most growth-oriented managers make is valuing only superstars and neglecting or even disrespecting rock stars.
Growth trajectories are not permanent. People shift between steep and gradual growth based on life circumstances: parenthood, illness, personal passions, or simply different life phases. A manager's job is to understand where each person wants to be right now and match opportunities accordingly, not to impose a one-size-fits-all growth expectation.
- Growth trajectories are temporary states, not permanent labels. People shift between steep and gradual trajectories based on life circumstances.
- Rock stars and superstars are equally valuable. Stability is just as important as growth for a healthy team.
- The best way to manage excellent performers is to be a partner, not an absentee manager or a micromanager.
- Promotion is not the only form of recognition. Putting a rock star in a superstar role often leads to the Peter Principle.
- Your job is not to provide purpose but to understand how each person derives meaning from their work.
- Identify Current Growth TrajectoriesFor each direct report, determine whether they are currently on a steep growth trajectory (wanting rapid change, new skills, increased impact) or a gradual growth trajectory (wanting stability, depth, mastery in their current role). Do this through career conversations, not assumptions.Pro tipAsk 'What growth trajectory do you want to be on right now?' rather than making judgments about someone's potential. The answer may surprise you.WarningNever assume that someone on a gradual trajectory lacks ambition or capability. Einstein worked in a patent office. T.S. Eliot worked in a bank.
- Assess the Team's BalanceMap your entire team's current trajectories and evaluate whether you have the right mix of stability and growth. Teams that are all superstars lack the institutional knowledge and consistency needed to execute. Teams that are all rock stars may stagnate.Pro tipIf you are a superstar type yourself, you are probably systematically undervaluing your rock stars. Consciously correct for this bias.WarningDo not create a culture where only steep growth is rewarded. This drives away excellent performers who provide essential stability.
- Match Opportunities to TrajectoriesGive superstars challenging new projects, stretch assignments, and paths to promotion. Give rock stars recognition, fair performance ratings, guru or teaching roles, and the stability they need. Do not put a rock star in a superstar role or vice versa.Pro tipDesignate rock stars as go-to experts or teachers. The US Air Force won WWII air superiority by pulling their best pilots to train new ones, while Germany flew their aces until they were shot down.WarningA person on a steep growth trajectory in a gradual growth role will go crazy. Maurice Tempelsman once ground a million-dollar diamond to dust because he was a superstar stuck in a rock star task.
- Reassess RegularlyGrowth trajectories change. Check in at least annually through career conversations. Watch for life changes such as new parenthood, illness, completed education, or recovered ambition that signal a shift in trajectory.Pro tipTwo aspiring Olympic athletes on Scott's Google team were on gradual growth at work during their athletic prime. Five years later, they pivoted all their energy to careers and rocketed upward.WarningDo not put permanent labels on people. Performance is not a permanent label either. No one is always an excellent performer; they just performed excellently last quarter.
At forty, pregnant with high-risk twins, Scott was offered the chance to interview for Twitter's CEO role. She chose to stay at Google on a gradual growth trajectory, where the healthy food, maternal massage therapist, and lap pool supported her pregnancy. She continued leading major teams but did not push for the next job.
A leader at Apple described her team using two categories: rock stars who loved their work and were world-class at it but did not want to be Steve Jobs, and superstars who would go crazy doing the same job for a year. She was explicit about needing a balance of both and managing each type differently.
Scott spent the first twenty years of her career focused exclusively on finding and rewarding the most ambitious people. At Apple, Scott Forstall (who built the iOS team) challenged this approach by proposing a shift from 'potential' to 'growth' in how managers evaluate people. The word change was pivotal: instead of asking 'Is this a high-potential or low-potential person?' managers asked 'What growth trajectory does this person want to be on right now?' Scott herself experienced the rock star trajectory when she became pregnant with twins at forty and needed stability rather than the next big promotion. A Dr. Seuss film, The Lorax, finally drove the lesson home as she realized 'biggering' was not always better.