5 Important Points To Consider Before Identifying High Potentials

 

Organisations today increasingly look for Leadership qualities at all levels – from an individual  contributor to the CEO. This often starts off with the identification right from campus recruitment. 

Managers use the yard stick of performance, employee loyalty, supervisor feedback, etc as the key for promoting an employee. While these are important parameters, the biggest question mark is in identifying and understanding the presence of Leadership qualities in an individual.

Following are 5 key aspects that an organisation should consider while identifying High Potentials (HiPo):

1.       Most organizations may not adopt scientifically validated processes for identifying HIPOs and will choose to use the performance management system or nomination method as the primary method. While this is a good method, it cannot be the only system as there is a possibility of bias. Additionally, it is important that management is trained to spot leadership qualities in their employees. To do this, instilling a talent council which comprises of a cross section of senior leaders to vet talent across levels is a good way to remove personal biases and also signal the organization’s seriousness in identifying High Potentials.

 

2.       Before starting the identification process it is important to establish what is the potential being sought for. While there would be common characteristics that contribute to “high potential”, there would be some unique abilities and characteristics that differentially predict potential for a particular talent pool or certain critical roles. It is therefore, important to establish the ultimate goal and also articulate the various characteristics that underline High Potentials.

 

3.       Organizations often invest time & money on great performers with the assumption that they would eventually become High Potentials. However, that is a short sighted approach which does not focus on future potential.  Along with current performance, it is equally important to identify the future capability and behaviours in significantly broader roles & complex situations. It is hence important to identify those situations and complexities in as much detail as possible and then place the candidate in question in that situation to ascertain his or her readiness.

 

4.       It is also important to define the company’s expectation and success of a HiPo and align them with the individual’s future expectations and aspirations. Companies identify HiPos in order to map them into critical future roles. Therefore, it is essential to have a robust career conversation to understand the individual’s preference and future expectations too and ensure that the same is in line with the organization’s plans. This way the company and the individual are prepared and in agreement with the development planning, career guidance and any trade-offs or life choices that may be required. This may also lead to some people realizing they may be better off in another role or career alltogether. While this may cause temporary disruption, it proves beneficial to both the organization and the individual in the long run as future investments and sunk costs get saved.

5.       It is critical to identify and train coaches and mentors in order to create a strong support network that will assist, encourage, provide feedback and constructively challenge HiPos. This is often done post the process. However, successful organizations have been able to pre-empt this requirement and have it ready to ensure there is no lag between identification and development.

In the end, identification and development of talent is a combination of art and science, of discretion and insights. When it comes to talent management,

“Always account for variable change”

From the Movie 21 where Kevin Spacey (Prof. Mickey Rosa) reminds his students during a scene.