Why high potential isn’t enough

My mother had a saying that “You can’t just hire a hand. The whole man always comes with it.” The language is a little dated, but the truth is still the same.

People aren’t just a set of talents. They’re that messy bundle of stuff called human beings. Three recent blog posts lay out some of the practical realities.

The Corporate Executive Board posted “Six Myths of Employee Engagement.” Myth number 2, Most High Performers Are High-Potential Employees, hits the issue head-on.

“Reality: While almost all high-potential employees are high-performing, the reverse is not true. High-potential employees must have: 1) the skills to be successful at a higher level, 2) the aspiration to be promoted several times, and 3) the desire for a long-term career at your company, not one of your competitors.

Fact: Only 29% of high performers are actually high-potential employees. The two most common reasons why they are not are: 1) They have the ability, but not the aspiration—they don’t want to make the necessary trade-offs in their life to be promoted several times, and 2) they have the ability but not the engagement to be successful—they will make the necessary trade-offs but they prefer to make them at a different company.”

Laura Schroeder points out that not all high performers will be high performers for you in her post, “Who Do You Love?”

“70% of ‘high potentials’ are false positives, for one of three reasons:

1) They aren’t committed to the organization;

2) They aren’t willing to do what it takes to succeed at the next level; or

3) The organization doesn’t have what it takes to help them be successful at the next level.”

And, Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership added his own savvy wisdom to the conversation. He identifies what he calls “toxic high performers” and shares some ideas about how to deal with them.”

My takeaway from all this? If all you’re concerned with is “talent,” you’re doomed.

The people who will make the engine of your enterprise go are the ones who have talent and commitment and a good fit for your organization. Find them. Cultivate them. And let them go if you must.

Wally Bock

Wally Bock is a coach, a writer and President of Three Star Leadership.