HighPotentialEmployeesHowtoSpot—andDevelop—High-PotentialTalentinYourOrganizationbyJamesIntagliata,JenniferSturman,andStephenKincaidMay26,2022MaxZerrahn/GettyImagesSummary.Organizationstypicallylooktopastperformancetoidentifyfutureleaders.Butanemployee’strackrecorddoesn’ttellyouwhomightexcelatthingstheyhaven’tdonebefore,nordoesitidentifyearly-careerhighpotentialsorpeoplewhohaven’thadequitableaccess...moreOrganizationsstruggletoidentifytheirnext-genleaders,andforgoodreasons.Whenyoudon’tknowwhatthefuturewillbring,howdoyoufigureoutwhohas—orcanacquire—therightstrengthstomeetthosechallenges?Whichhighpotentialswillgiveyouthebestreturnonyourdevelopmentefforts?Facedwiththeseuncertainties,businessestendtofocusonwhattheydoknow:Theylookforpeoplewho’vetakenonmoreresponsibilityintheircareersorhavenailedtheirperformancetargets.Inshort,theylookforfutureleadersbyfocusingonpasttrackrecords.Andthisapproachcanworkwellifyou’refillingaknownroleandcandidateshavehadchancestodemonstratetherequiredskillsandcharacteristics.Butpastperformancedoesn’ttellyouwhocandothingstheyhaven’tdonebefore.Italsodoesn’thelpidentifyhighpotentialsearlierintheircareer.Yourleadershippipelinecouldbemissingoutonother,potentiallyrichersourcesoftalent—peoplewhohaven’thadequitableaccesstomentoring,sponsorship,development,andadvancementopportunities.Totacklethisproblem,wedevelopedamodelforpredictingleadershippotentialthat’sgroundednotinachievementsbutinobservable,measurablebehaviors.Drawingonadatabaseofmorethan23,000candidateassessmentsforrolesatpublicandprivatecompanies,weconductedin-depthanalysesof1,500individuals,fromentry-levelprofessionalstoseniorleaders.Weexaminedtheirbehaviorsandisolatedthreepsychologicalmarkersthatreliablypredictindividuals’abilitytogrowandhandleincreasedcomplexityinnewroles:Cognitivequotient(CQ):howtheyleveragetheirintellectDrivequotient(DQ):whatmotivatesthemandhowtheyapplytheirenergyEmotionalquotient(EQ):howtheyinteractwiththosearoundthemWhilethesemarkersarerootedinintellect,motivations,andinterpersonalstyle,theydon’tproviderawmeasuresofthesequalities,aspersonalitytestsandothertoolsoftentrytodo.Instead,theycapturehowpeopleusethesequalitiesonthejob,andtogether,theygiveorganizationsaconcrete,objectivewaytogaugeleadershippotential,regardlessofcandidates’depthofexperience.Let’slookattelltalebehaviorsineachpsychologicalarea—bothtablestakesandhigher-leveldifferentiatorsthatsignalcapacityforfutureleadershiproles.CognitiveQuotient(CQ)Manyorganizationsfocusmainlyonintellectualhorsepowerwhenconsideringtheirleadershipbench.Afterall,it’savaluablequality,andwehavetoolstogaugeit:academictranscripts,psychometrictests,andcase-basedinterviewsdesignedtoevaluateanalyticalacumen.Weoftenassumepeoplewhodowellbythesemeasuresareprobably“brightenough”tolearnwhateverthey’llneedtoknowtosucceedinthefuture.Butthesecommonmeasurescanbesteepedinbias.Theyfavorcandidateswhoattendedeliteschools,thosewho’vealreadysecuredplumearly-careerpositions,andthosewhoknowhowtojumpthroughtherequisitehoops.Theyalsofavorbooksmartsoverpracticalsmartsandcommercialinstinct.TomeasureCQ,you’llwanttosearchforthemoreadvancedbehaviorsthatdistinguishpeoplewhousetheirintellecttosolvefortherightproblems.Dotheyroutinelystepbackfromtheirtaskstoseethingsfromtheperspectiveoftheirmanager(ortheirmanager’smanager)?Whenconsideringwhichpathtotake,dotheytrytolookaroundcornerstoanticipatetheunexpected?Whenmakingdecisions,evensmallones,dotheygroundtheirthinkinginhowtheycancreatevalueforthebusiness?DriveQuotient(DQ)Whenwetalkaboutdrive,we’renotjustdescribingmotivationtoexcel,astrongworkethic,andpersistence.Althoughthesequalitiesmatter,they’rerelativelycommonamongaspiringleaders.Thedifferentiatorhereishowpeopleapplytheirenergy—notjusttomaximizetheirownperformancebuttodevelopandleveragethecapabilitiesofothers(adistinctionweseeoverlookedinmanymodels).PeoplewithhighDQpushpasttheircomfortzonesandattacknewchallengeswithrelish.They’realsoresilient:Whentheyexperienceasetback,theyresetandreframeandtryagain.Mostimportantly,theycontinuallystrivetoimprovenotjustasindividuals,buttoamplifyresultsattheorganizationallevel.EmotionalQuotient(EQ)Companiesknowtheyneedleaderswithemotionalintelligence,butinourexperience,theytendtofocusonbasics,likeself-awareness,gettingalongwithpeople,andbeingabletoreadtheroom.Again,theseskillsarenecessarybutnotsufficient.TofindpeoplewithhighEQ,thedifferentiatorsweidentifiedinourresearchsuggestthatyoushouldsearchforindividualswhoengageforimpact—forinstance,thosewhoareintentionalaboutchannelingtheirinsightstoinfluencestakeholdersandnegotiateoutcomes.Inaddition,lookforthosewhoareableandwillingtodeliverdifficultmessageswithcourageandempathy.TestingtheModelOverthepastfiveyears,we’veusedthismodelextensivelytovalidateandapplyourfindings.Inonedouble-blindstudylookingonlyattheearlierphasesofleaders’careers,thethreemarkersofCQ,DQ,andEQaccuratelydifferentiatedthosewholatermadeittotheC-suitefromthosewhodidn’ttwotimesoutofthree.Themodelsignificantlyoutperformstypicalsuccessratesforhiringandpromotiondecisions,whichtendtobea50/50rollofthedice.Inanotherstudy,conductedoverseveralyears,withinoneorganization,weusedourmodeltoassessthepotentialofmorethan1,800candidatesforkeyleadershipand/orfunctionalroles.Managersmadeindependentdecisionsabouthiringandsubsequentperformance;wedidn’tshareourratings.Inouranalysesthatfollowed,wefoundthatthepeoplewehadratedhighlyonpotentialweremorethanthreetimesaslikelytobeevaluatedbytheirmanagersastopperformersintheirfirstyearandevenmorelikelytobetopperformersintheirsecondyear,thirdyear,andeventheirfourthyear.Theywerealsolesslikelytobeinvoluntarilyterminated.Theseresultssuggestthatwhatwearemeasuringisnotmerelytheacquisitionofskillsbutastyleofthinkingandworkingthatsetsthestageforongoinggrowthandsuccess.UsingtheModeltoDevelopPotentialTotapleadershippotentialearlier—andmoreeffectively—organizationscanbuildafewkeystepsintotheirtalentprocesses.Startbyeducatingmanagersonwhattolookforwhenrecruitingandscreeningearly-careerhires,conductingevaluations,managingperformance,andselectingcandidatesfordevelopmentopportunities.Explainthatperformanceonitsownisnotaproxyforpotential,andensuremanagersknowhowtorecognizeCQ,DQ,andEQinindividualswhodon’thaveatrackrecordorwhosebackgroundsdon’tfitthesamemoldaspreviousgenerationsofleaders.Organizationscanalsodevelop“potentialprofiles”aspartoftheirperformancemanagementandtalentdevelopmentprocesses.Managerscanaccelerateprofessionalgrowthbyassessingemployees’CQ,DQ,andEQskillsandprovidingcoachingonhowtodevelopandrefinethem.TobuildthestrategicmuscleassociatedwithCQ,weoftenrecommendhavingpeopleattendmeetingswithseniorleaderstoobserveandgainabroaderperspectiveonthebusiness.Managerscanalsogiveemployeesassignmentsthatrequirethemtoengagewithotherpartsoftheorganization—throughtheseexperiences,theycandiscoverhowtoconnectdotsacrossunitsorfunctions.Encouragingemployeestoparticipateinindustryconferencesandeventswillhelpthemgainexposuretotheissuesandquestionsthataretopofmindforleadersbeyondtheirownorganization.DQcanbedevelopedthroughstretchopportunitiesthattestpeopleinnewways.Tryrotatingaspiringleadersintodifferentmarketsorareasofthebusiness,forexample,orgivingthembiggerteamstomanage—andthenseewhattheydotogetthemselvesuptospeed.Dotheywaittobetoldwhichskillstosharpen,ordotheyproactivelyseekfeedbackonwhattheyneedtolearnandhowtogoaboutit?TohelphighpotentialsbuildtheirEQ,startwithorganizationalculture.Spelloutthe“unwrittenrules”forengagingwithoneanother.Oncetheyhaveahandleonthose,taskthemwithmappingtheirstakeholders,andmakebuildingtheserelationshipsanexplicitdevelopmentobjective.Youcanalsointroducethemtotoolsandframeworksthatwilldeepentheirunderstandingofhowthey’repersonallywired,whatmakesotherstick,andhowtospeaktoothers’needs.CaseStudy:DevelopingaHigh-PotentialLeaderAFortune500companyengagedustohelpidentifyanddeveloptheirhigh-potentialpool.MostofourworkwaswithleaderstwolevelsbelowtheC-suite.Maya*wasthreelevelsdownandonlyincludedwhenaspotinourprogramunexpectedlyopenedup.Shewasanunknowntomanyofourclient’sseniorleaders,andthosewhodidknowherhadanegativeimpression,tellingusshewas“tooyoung,”“tooeagertoplease,”and“l(fā)ackedgravitas.”However,whenwedidourinitialassessment,wewereimpressedbyhowsheapproachedcomplexproblems,evaluatingmultiplescenariosratherthanquicklylockinginonasingleanswer,andfactoringinthebroaderindustrycontextandcompetitivedynamics.WeratedherhighlyonCQ.MayadistinguishedherselfonDQaswell.Herparentswereimmigrantsworkingblue-collarjobs,soshechosethecollegethatmayhavelackedaprestigiousbrandbutofferedherthemostattractivefinancialpackage.Sheexcelledtherebeforejoiningourclient,whereshewassoononanacceleratedpath.Whatmadeherstandout,however,washoweveninherearliestrolesshesoughtoutopportunitiesforstretchassignments.Shealsovolunteeredforandbecamealeaderofthecompany’swomen’smentorshipinitiative.EQwasMaya’sweakestarea.Theflipsideofherdrivetodeliverresultswasthatshedidn’tinvesttimeinbuildingrelationships.Asaresult,shestruggledinsituationswherethefactsanddataweren’tenoughtomakehercaseandshehadtousepersuasiontoadvanceherobjectives.Shealsotendedtoworkaroundconflictsratherthanhavetoughconversationswithcolleagues.Wecoachedheronbeingmoreintentionalaboutgettingtoknowherstakeholdersandmanaginghowshe“showedup”withthem.Weguidedheronwaystotackledifficultissuesheadonandheldheraccountablefordoingso.Wealsorecommendedarotationtoanassignmentthatwouldtestherabilitytoworkcross-functionally.Overthecourseofthenext24months,shejumpedtwolevelstolandinahigh-visibilityrolewheresheisthriving.Hernewbossdescribesherasa“rockstar,”andshehasjumpedtothetopofthelistforconsiderationforC-suitefeederroles.Onefinalnote:Manybehaviorsarereadilycoachable—forexample,peoplecanlearnhowtomoreeffectivelyinfluenceandpersuade.Othersmaybehardertochange,likethinkingmoreconceptuallyorstrategically.Sowhenconsideringsomeone’spotentialtosucceedinanewleadershiprole,takeintoaccounthowreadilyanymissingbehaviorscanbelearnedandputintopractice.CQ,DQ,andEQareeachvaluableintheirownright.Buttogether,thesemarkerscanhelpyourorganizationidentifyanddevelopthenext-generationleadersneededtonavigateunknownchallengesahead.Andthey’llallowyoutotapamuchlarger,deeper,morediverseleadershippoolthanyourealizedyouhad.*NamechangedtopreserveconfidentialityJamesIntagliata,Ph.D.,isapartnerandsenioradvisorwithghSMART,wherehespecializesindevelopinginnovativetalentmanagementpracticesandsolutions.Overthepastfiveyears,hehastakenal