How to Manage a High‑Performing Technical Star Who Resists Supervision

In the opening remark the author asks, "Resisting 'management'? Why should we manage him? I have similar people in my team; I treat them with respect and empowerment because my reports to the CTO rely on their output."

The author notes that his team includes a senior engineer from a large company whose professional and operations skills surpass his own, and because the company does not have dedicated operations staff, both of them handle ops duties.

He repeatedly emphasizes that managers should see themselves as servants to the team, stating that having such a high‑level expert is valuable even if the person is blunt or uncommunicative.

His work can serve as important material for my reports.

The author argues that any team output can be presented in reports, and therefore the only action required is to let the expert focus and give him space.

Let him focus and give him space.

As a concrete example, over the past few months the author stopped assigning the expert any business projects and allowed him to concentrate on enterprise‑level AI Agent deployment. After jointly defining the AI implementation plan, the author handed the execution over to the expert.

The result was that multiple AI agents were successfully deployed, and the company now operates its own Agent management platform that already hosts several agents. The CEO places high importance on AI‑driven efficiency, and each department is adopting these agents, reflecting the company's strategic emphasis on AI empowerment.

The author concludes that granting authority and providing sufficient space without interference is the correct approach for managing top technical talent.