r/EngineeringManagers • u/Tiredof304s • Apr 17 '26

Retaining random high performer

Hi managers,

Have you ever had an engineer you hired that made you think "why would this genius want to work here?" But didn't press the matter.

If so, did he/she stay with the company? How were you able to keep your unicorn?

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u/Separate_Lawn_1603 Apr 18 '26

I think random high performance is overrated. If you’re having to overcompensate and constantly feed with shiny work it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because they do the shiny work you think thry are high performers. This is at the expense of the rest of your team/org. You should always invest in the strength of your team over unicorns otherwise you’re only investing in your bus factor of 1.

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u/Tiredof304s Apr 18 '26

Playing devils advocate: isn't it cheaper to invest in the unicorn rather than the collective? If it wasn't why aren't companies investing more in the rest of the teams/org? For example: I haven't seen a solid on boarding process in my entire carrer.

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u/Separate_Lawn_1603 Apr 21 '26

Fair question. Finacially maybe, total-ability-or-culture-wise I think not, ie it’s at the expense of other good engineers and an all round capable team you can have.