The Dangerous Tax on High Performance

If something urgent comes up, who is the first person you call?

Most managers naturally turn to their highest performers. They are reliable, committed, and rarely say no. But enthusiasm is not an infinite capacity.

When we give our best people new projects without explicitly taking old ones off their plate, we aren’t delegating—we are adding extra work and relying on their inability to say no.

A simple rule for true leadership: Every time you assign a new priority to a high performer, tell them immediately what to deprioritize.

Don't leave them to juggle it all. They probably could manage it, but there is always a hidden cost: burnout, quiet resentment, or a sudden resignation that leaves everyone "surprised."

Protecting your team’s focus and wellbeing isn't about reducing standards. It’s about creating the mental buffer required for high-quality thinking and genuine ownership.

If you can’t name what drops off when a new task is added, you aren’t prioritizing. You are just overburdening the people you can least afford to lose.

When you assign a new priority to a top performer, do you explicitly name what can drop off—or do you just hope they will figure it out?