Business Leaders and Human Resource Professionals spend a lot of time talking about identifying and retaining high potential (Hi-POT) within their organization. However, with all the emphasis on Hi-POT development, I always find it interesting so many companies seem to struggle with their High Potential Programs being a success. The reason being that the organizations haven’t got their basics right. One of the most crucial and often ignored success parameter for a High Potential Program is to understand the context. Context is a critical component of a High Potential Program. A brilliant employee in one situation does not necessarily perform well in another. The Sales Business Head of a large learning business we know had an outstanding record when markets were growing quickly, but he failed to provide clear direction when the sales and client servicing approaches were changing in the industry. Instead, he continued to encourage the legacy thinking, hallmarks of the culture that had previously brought success.

Focusing on context inevitably means equipping future leaders with a small number of competencies (two to three) that will make a significant difference to performance. Instead, what we often see is a laundry list of leadership standards which are seemingly complicated and at times unrealistic. In practice, we have found that when a company cuts through the noise to identify a small number of capabilities essential for success in its business —such as critical thinking, achievement orientation and adaptability it achieves far better outcomes.
In the case of the learning business, that was anxious to identify its future sales leaders who could adapt to the new trends, the skill that mattered most (but was in shortest supply) was the ability to appreciate customer needs, listen to the clients actively and provide customised digital solutions. When the Sales Business Head conducted an initiative that identified and developed the high potential employees on the art of consultative selling, it was seen that burdening of the sales team reduced and they were able to focus on the key attributes that were critical in their context, thereby improving the sales productivity. Therefore, organizations must learn to appreciate the context as it is important for making their High Potential Programs a success!