Some employees are more talented than others. That’s a fact of
organizational life that few executives and HR managers would dispute.
The more debatable point is how to treat the people who appear to have
the highest potential. Opponents of special treatment argue that all
employees are talented in some way and, therefore, all should receive
equal opportunities for growth. Devoting a disproportionate amount of
energy and resources to a select few, their thinking goes, might cause
you to overlook the potential contributions of the many. But the
disagreement doesn’t stop there. Some executives say that a company’s
list of high potentials—and the process for creating it—should be a
closely guarded secret. After all, why dampen motivation among the
roughly 95% of employees who aren’t on the list?
For the past 15 to 20 years, we’ve been studying programs for high-potential leaders. Most recently we surveyed 45 companies worldwide about how they identify and develop these people. We then interviewed HR executives at a dozen of those companies to gain insights about the experiences they provide for high potentials and about the criteria for getting and staying on the list. Then, guided by input from HR leaders, we met with and interviewed managers they’d designated as rising stars.
Our research makes clear that high-potential talent lists exist, whether or not companies acknowledge them and whether the process for developing them is formal or informal. Of the companies we studied, 98% reported that they purposefully identify high potentials. Especially when resources are constrained, companies do place disproportionate attention on developing the people they think will lead their organizations into the future.
So you might be asking yourself, “How do I get—and stay—on my company’s high-potential list?” This article can help you begin to answer that question. Think of it as a letter to the millions of smart, competent, hardworking, trustworthy employees who are progressing through their careers with some degree of satisfaction but are still wondering how to get where they really want to go. We’ll look at the specific qualities of managers whose firms identified them as having made the grade.
The Anatomy of a High Potential
Let’s begin with our definition of a high-potential employee. Your company may have a different definition or might not even officially distinguish high potentials from other employees. However, our research has shown that companies tend to think of the top 3% to 5% of their talent in these terms:
“High potentials consistently and significantly outperform their peer groups in a variety of settings and circumstances. While achieving these superior levels of performance, they exhibit behaviors that reflect their companies’ culture and values in an exemplary manner. Moreover, they show a strong capacity to grow and succeed throughout their careers within an organization—more quickly and effectively than their peer groups do.”
That's the basic anatomy of a high potential. Gaining membership in this elite group starts with three essential elements.
Deliver strong results—credibly.
Making your numbers is important, but it isn’t enough. You’ll never get on a high-potential list if you don’t perform with distinction or if your results come at the expense of someone else. Competence is the baseline quality for high performance. But you also need to prove your credibility. That means building trust and confidence among your colleagues and, thereby, influencing a wide array of stakeholders.
For the past 15 to 20 years, we’ve been studying programs for high-potential leaders. Most recently we surveyed 45 companies worldwide about how they identify and develop these people. We then interviewed HR executives at a dozen of those companies to gain insights about the experiences they provide for high potentials and about the criteria for getting and staying on the list. Then, guided by input from HR leaders, we met with and interviewed managers they’d designated as rising stars.
Our research makes clear that high-potential talent lists exist, whether or not companies acknowledge them and whether the process for developing them is formal or informal. Of the companies we studied, 98% reported that they purposefully identify high potentials. Especially when resources are constrained, companies do place disproportionate attention on developing the people they think will lead their organizations into the future.
So you might be asking yourself, “How do I get—and stay—on my company’s high-potential list?” This article can help you begin to answer that question. Think of it as a letter to the millions of smart, competent, hardworking, trustworthy employees who are progressing through their careers with some degree of satisfaction but are still wondering how to get where they really want to go. We’ll look at the specific qualities of managers whose firms identified them as having made the grade.
The Anatomy of a High Potential
Let’s begin with our definition of a high-potential employee. Your company may have a different definition or might not even officially distinguish high potentials from other employees. However, our research has shown that companies tend to think of the top 3% to 5% of their talent in these terms:
“High potentials consistently and significantly outperform their peer groups in a variety of settings and circumstances. While achieving these superior levels of performance, they exhibit behaviors that reflect their companies’ culture and values in an exemplary manner. Moreover, they show a strong capacity to grow and succeed throughout their careers within an organization—more quickly and effectively than their peer groups do.”
That's the basic anatomy of a high potential. Gaining membership in this elite group starts with three essential elements.
Deliver strong results—credibly.
Making your numbers is important, but it isn’t enough. You’ll never get on a high-potential list if you don’t perform with distinction or if your results come at the expense of someone else. Competence is the baseline quality for high performance. But you also need to prove your credibility. That means building trust and confidence among your colleagues and, thereby, influencing a wide array of stakeholders.
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