We have been talking about…High Potential

One of our recent areas of focus has been High Potential (HiPo). Earlier this year we published an article about leadership potential, and our webinar last month, Talking High Potential, looked at HiPo from a broader angle, including its implications for organisations.

Among the many points of discussion? How research, evidence and practice show us that there are established factors relevant for identifying, assessing and developing high potential. From this we have a clear direction on what constitutes potential and how to identify it.

High potential involves creating the conditions for individuals, teams and organisations to succeed. Leaders need to analyse the constant changing and complex context around them to enable their organisation to thrive. Significant resources continue to be devoted to defining what HiPo means in their environment and culture and organisations invest heavily in developing individuals identified as ‘HiPo’. 

Performance is often confused with potential, or they are treated as the same thing. Past behaviour has historically often been considered as a predictor of future performance in similar situations, but now past behaviour no longer works well as the only predictor of future success. This is known as the ’performance potential paradox’. Other factors play into a given performance, and it is critical to identify what these are.

Numerous frameworks exist about what high potential is and is not and claims made about one easy solution for identifying HiPo need to be treated with caution. There should also be a focus on how to most effectively measure leadership potential, and often times there is a reluctance to apply a psychometric approach. More reliable approaches or models such as Church and Silzer (2014) focus on the necessary building blocks of high potential, such as cognitive capabilities, personality characteristics, learning skills and motivation [1]. 

Once these are in place, it is then recommended in the model to look at leadership skills and functional or technical skills. It is worth noting that some factors do not correlate with HiPo, such as emotional intelligence, soft skills and line manager ratings.

Using a systematic and robust approach to measure these building blocks can help to provide objective evidence and avoid bias and promote inclusivity. This is beneficial not only to the organisation and leadership teams, to maximise their investment, but also to employees, who can perceive a fair and transparent process which is likely to lead to greater levels of engagement and attract new talent to the organisation. There should, therefore, be careful consideration of which instruments or techniques are fit for purpose and critical questions asked around whether or not the process directly or indirectly gives unfair advantage or disadvantage to any particular person or group.

In summary, high potential can lead to:

• Increased organisational performance; more productive individuals and teams.
• Creating a leadership pipeline, reducing leadership gaps.
• Retaining top talent; increasing employee engagement; reducing turnover.
• Competitive advantage – adaptable and innovative organisations.
• Cultural impact – HiPo’s having positive influence on values and culture.

The cost of not looking at HiPo is that the clear business advantage of a more productive, efficient and engaged workforce, can be easily lost. Investment of resources in creating a transparent, inclusive and robust process can be balanced against what research and practice shows us are proven benefits to the organisation.

If you need any help considering tools for assessing for high potential please let us know and we can discuss your particular needs.

You can see all of our HR assessments and measures here, or call/ email customersupport@hogrefe.co.uk for advice and guidance.

[1] Church, A. H., & Silzer, R. (2014). Going behind the corporate curtain with a Blueprint for Leadership Potential: An integrated framework for identifying high-potential talent. People & Strategy, 36(4), 51–58.

[2] Chamorro-Premuzic, T. & Phillans, G. (2016). Assessing Potential – from academic theories to practical realities. © The Corporate Research Forum.