What can throw a high performer off balance

Sure, the manager is constantly bombarded—by interruptions, by difficult people, by unreasonable assignments, on and on. But the only threats that really matter are internal: habits of thinking that distract from one’s purpose.

        Worry. In its misguided way, this is an attempt to control the unknown. We ponder all the things that might happen, as if we can stop the tide just by our thinking.
        Anger/resentment. When people in our organization reject or challenge our ideas or suggestions, sometimes we just react. Anger and resentment encourage us to focus on how “right” we think we are. Such closed-minded resistance actually hampers our ability to work effectively within the flow of events. We become like a fallen water-skier, dragged along by external forces, flailing about and swallowing water.

        Second-guessing. Could I have done that better? We revisit the past, dissecting each decision. Such thoughts drain productive energy. As if we’re trying to row a boat with only one oar—going ‘round and ‘round in circles.
       Guilt. By saying, “I’ve screwed up and there’s no redemption,” guilt causes us to give up hope. We’re so busy beating on ourselves that we miss the signal to sail our boat to the starting line of the race.
        Jumping to conclusions. We’re so intent on inserting ourselves into the conversation that we stop listening to others. Because people can be shy, interruptions may lead them to become too quiet; we miss the chance to get important information. We may lose the race by heading in the wrong direction.

       Assuming intent. We judge the actions of other without asking what thoughts set them in motion. What is to be gained by yelling at a crewmember who is the doing the best she can?
        Desiring approval. We constantly perform to an unseen audience, so wrapped up in wondering how we look to the people on shore that we don’t see that the current is running against us.
        Comparison. Instead of experiencing the moment, we judge it against what’s gone before, against our expectations of what could be, against what we imagine to be true for someone else. As if we’re sailing into a glorious sunset and wondering if the view would be better from someone else’s boat.

In start-ups, however, it is harder to deal with the "Low Performance and High Values" people.  They obvious grok the culture and people in the company tend to benefit from their presence (at least culturally).  But start-ups often have limited management bench, limited management time, and limited (if any at all) training.  So usually the better strategy than to fully invest in these people is to move them to a different job or a different manager.  It is possible that they might just be in the wrong place and a different org might turn them into a high performer