High-Potential Employees

Every organisation needs to identify the employees that should be developed into managerial roles as no organisation has infinite resources to provide training and support for every employee. So the organisation should identify employees that would have "the highest ROI".

Traditionally organisations distinguish two groups of employees: First, employees who demonstrate high results. Second, high-potential employees. But how should these two groups be prioritised in terms of learning?

Proven methodology

Companies need to identify high-potential employees

It is hard to identify high-potentials. Most companies don't invest in the employees with the highest potential in the management development programmes.

Peter principle is widely known. It states that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "level of incompetence". Employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs. It is presumed that people stay effective as they are promoted.

However, in the long-term current skillset of any employee would be less significant than ability to acquire new knowledge, skills and behaviours that would allow them to be more productive in the future. In other words, their potential is more important that their current results.

Identifying high-potential employees

The definition of high-potential employees

Potential is a type of thinking and set of practical skills that allow some employees to grow constantly, using new tools and strategies to solve ever-increasing challenges.

Leadership potential is determined by personal motivators, also called key leadership drivers, not by skills or competencies. Leadership drivers are prerequisites for the development of competencies, skills and developments.

If drivers are present, we can predict that leadership skills and competencies would be developed very quickly. The methodology we use can help you with this.

How to identify 10% of high-potentials?

Potential assessment models

Leadership drivers present themselves through behaviours and can be assessed. These assessments allow to predict future performance. There are several assessment models. The articles below are about their strong points and limitations.