The Problem with “High-Potential” Programs
It’s easy to see why we reward those brilliant go-getters. They’re the ones on the employee-of-the-month photos, always going the extra mile. They push limits and achieve extraordinary results. So, why not give them extra care with more training and incentives?
After all, these individuals leave it all on the field for the company. But what happens when they leave to start their own companies, change industries, or look for new challenges? Who will take their place? And how much will it cost your organization to replace them?
Leaders who focus only on high-potential employees can forget something important. Having such a program sends a clear message to those who don’t make the cut. The communication is anything but inclusive. Selection criteria are often subjective and based on temporary needs. We try to predict the future based on past performance. This is risky in our VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world. The challenges we face tomorrow will likely be very different from those we faced yesterday. There has to be a better way.
The Better Strategy: Unlock Everyone’s Potential
What if every single one of your coworkers was a high-potential individual? Imagining this in an organizational culture with a growth mindset should be easy.
When people don’t outperform expectations, it’s less about their potential and more about the company culture. It could also be about their individual ability to tap into that potential.
Three Pillars to Unleash Potential
To truly unlock your team’s potential, you must focus on three core areas.
1. A Culture of Psychological Safety First, there must be psychological safety for anyone’s potential to emerge. Potential, by its nature, is untested. It implies experimentation and learning new things. Failure is part of this process. When it’s safe to fail at your organization, people will be bold enough to try new things.
If the culture accepts leaders and peers without a growth mindset, people will feel their abilities are fixed. It’s critical to show that improvement is not only possible but, with effort, a certainty.
2. Focus on Individual Needs On an individual level, employees need to feel that their needs are met. This is why high-performing companies offer high wages and many benefits. They don’t want employees to worry about making rent or what they will eat.
In many organizations, people still worry about things like paying their rent, their children’s schooling, or retirement savings. It is difficult for them to be creative and engaged when their minds are full of these worries.
3. Cultivate Intrinsic Motivation Finally, we must consider motivation. Organizations tend to use extrinsic incentives to get things done. But to truly unleash potential, motivation must be intrinsic. High-potential individuals want to grow beyond their current situation.
This happens when three factors combine, as Dan Pink explains in his book, Drive:
- Autonomy: People must feel that their leaders trust them. They should be able to choose what they work on, who they work with, and how. Micromanagement kills motivation.
- Mastery: It’s essential to feel that work helps us grow in our chosen area. We are curious beings, hungry to develop our skills.
- Purpose: Coworkers should feel like contributors, not just employees. When they come together for something bigger than themselves, they find alignment between their personal purpose and the organization’s.
The Future of Your Organization
Imagine these factors coming together in your company. Imagine many more of your coworkers feeling confident, empowered, and motivated to explore and reach for their potential.
Instead of a program that fast-tracks a few, you’ll need to level up your entire organization. You will offer challenges that all of your team members will want to tackle. We should prepare everyone to ignite their potential and watch them propel our organizations toward the future.
