Are you a 'high-potential' employee?
Many organizations use a performance vs. potential grid for their employees during appraisals. Potential rating often influences salary hikes and retention investments.
But there is a problem with this approach.
While performance is generally objective and verifiable based on what a person has delivered, potential is subjective and future oriented. More often than not, it's based on the manager's gut feel and biases. Hard to be challenged and verified.
In an ideal world, current performance should be a leading indicator of future potential. But the world is far from ideal. And that's why we even entertain the idea that performance and potential for an individual could be different.
So, how do we inject more credibility into potential discussions?
I use a 3 Cs framework to dig deeper on potential:
1. Content: what skills, experience, knowledge, and personal/professional attributes the individual has that may be currently underleveraged but can be put to good use in the near future?
2. Coachability: what has been the track record of the person in terms of adapting to new contexts? How well and proactively do they they take feedback to learn, course-correct and thrive in new situations.
3. Context: what will/should change about the individual's current context (project, role, team, manager, something else?) in the near future that will help them demonstrate the potential we are talking about?
#1 and #2 require deep and honest deliberation among the panel members. #3 requires someone to walk away with an action so that the current potential of the individual can truly translate into future performance.
Potential needs grooming. It does not bloom on its own.
If in the next appraisal meeting the panel is still talking more about this person's potential rather than actual performance, it's time to eat the humble pie and accept a collective failure.
#appraisals #potential #performance #talentmanagement #hr