Every organization rates their employees. Every organization identifies high-potentials (HIPOs) within their ranks.
Usually part of an annual review process, managers are asked to rate each member of their team against a pre-determined scale; and while programs, criteria and assessment cycles change, these reviews are all essentially the same.
A high-potential employee (HIPO) is someone with the ability, engagement, and aspiration to rise to and succeed in more senior, critical positions.
Where you get classified within a matrix influences your career. Those identified as high-potential are given the opportunity to take on more projects, they work on more challenging problems and benefit from wider exposure to the business.
If your aspiration is to rise within an organization or find yourself with a senior level role at some point, it is essential that you be seen as a HIPO.
Disclaimer: There is absolutely nothing wrong taking on a role as a key player / regular contributor. Climbing the ladder and taking on ever expanding levels of responsibility is not for everyone. I share Marcus Buckingham's views that the traditional system we follow in North America typically promotes people to their level of incompetence, at which point they flame out. In the same way that different positions on a sports team require different skill-sets, so too does leadership and management. It's a fallacy to believe that everyone can do everything. Rewarding excellence at all levels for mastery and the contribution employees are making in their role is wildly important.
In my experience, there are four main ways that high-potential employees are recognized within their organization, they are: Own the problem, Make decisions, Adapt and thrive, Simplify.
An obvious assumption, however I will state it anyway, they get the job done / get results. It's fair to say that most people wouldn't consider building a future with a player that wasn't doing their job, and could never do what was asked of them.
Own the Problem
Have you found yourself in a situation where an issue is being bounced back and forth between departments? Everyone doing only technically what they are supposed to do at each step of the way, even when it starts to become clear there is a gap or misunderstanding or something is about to fall down.
This behaviour frustrates HIPOs, they don't do it. Instead, they step outside of their lane (and maybe even their comfort zone) to own the problem, to walk it start to finish in order to get the RIGHT resolution as quickly as possible.
You might be thinking that it's a lot of extra work, that not everyone has time to be able to do that. Most of the time, you would be surprised how little extra has to be done to make sure things are happening as they are supposed to. Send a few more emails, maybe a call or two and see how the system can let you know that something has finally been completed when it was supposed to. Basically check to make sure that it was done, and if it wasn't you send another email.
Standard Behaviour - Do your job, do your part, stay in your lane
HIPO Reframe - Do what needs to be done so everything executes properly
Make Decisions
There are two main reasons why most people aren't comfortable making a decision. Either they are overloaded with choice and start to suffer from decision paralysis or they're afraid to make a mistake. In my 15 years leading teams, I cannot recall one time when I thought there were too many valid and legitimate choices that then created a situation of decision paralysis; 99.9% of the time people don't make a decision because of fear.
The best advice I can give you hear is to learn. Take the time to look at the details, understand how things connect, the "why" behind the different steps, the customer needs, your own business constraints. The next best piece of advice? Use common sense. If you take things slow, go one step at a time and understand why you are making the decision you are, odds are it lands more on the good side than the bad. I have always told my teams that as long as they could explain the rationale behind their decision, what they factored in and what was their why, I would always support their decision.
Why?
Because even if it was "wrong", it provides all the context and understanding that we need to have a discussion about the situation and is easily transformed into a learning moment and we are both better for it.
Standard Behaviour - Comfortable to not make a decision and let someone else do it
HIPO Reframe - Chooses to lead and take action
Adapt and Thrive
"I'm not sure, that's just how we've always done it" ... If I knew how to insert that puking emoji he'd be staring back at you right now.
Complacency is king for a lot of people. It's easy to get comfortable, to understand your role, your responsibilities and to follow the instructions you were taught on how to do the job. For a lot of people, when they come into a new role, they are taught by someone more senior or some other expert tasked to show them the ropes. Surely this person who has X years of service must know best, so if this is how they are saying to do things, that must be the best way.
Maybe it is. Quite often, it's not.
High-potentials fix the things that bug them. If they have to run a report all the time as part of their role, they find out how to automate it, and if they can't automate it, how to take it from 10 steps down to 3. If every time they go out to the floor, there is almost an accident because you can't see around the corner, they'll petition to have a mirror put in. They want to understand the customer behaviour in a way that wasn't presented to them, the run their own report.
There is always an opportunity to improve. It's important to keep an open mind, challenge everything, ask questions and find where the opportunities are.
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