Executive Coach—Dr. Karen A Tracy, LLC.
As a coach, I have the opportunity to work with high-potential talent in organizations. High-potential talent refers to employees already performing in their current role, and the organization has identified them as having the potential to do more. More can include an expanded or higher-level role from the one they are in today. So what does this mean for the employee who wants to be the best version of themselves, “high potential” or not?
This article provides some key questions that one might ask to gain clarity on their way forward to high performance, whatever their path may be. The following case study reflects a leadership career discussion that can promote achieving clarity for those looking to create their high-performance self.
Case study: David is early in a career in a large, multinational organization. His manager informed him that he was in the organization’s high-potential talent pool. David has the knowledge, skill and demonstrated ability to move at least one or two levels up in the organization. He is described as a future leader and is attending a program to develop his leadership skills and gain exposure to other leaders in the organization.
The challenge for David is that he is unsure of his potential next step in his career journey. He knows he was selected for this program and wants to grow his career. He shows up to the program enthusiastically, ready to learn, yet hesitates to share his uncertainty. After all, his manager sponsored his attendance, and he does not want to disappoint him. Luckily for David, the organization brought in a leadership development coach to discuss his career and learn more about his past performance and future aspirations.
David brought a copy of his current development plan to the training and reviewed it with the coach during a one-on-one meeting. David’s plan is designed to help him develop in his current role as an operations manager of others. He currently leads a team of seven direct reports and has responsibility for the profit/loss of a small operation. The organization’s leadership team sees David as able to grow beyond his current role, from managing others to leading a geographic segment of the business, increasing his role’s scope, scale and complexity. While this sounds good, David is unsure what to expect and listens as the coach asks the following questions.
• What does success look like in your current role?
• What are you known for today? What do you want to be known for in the future?
• When you say you want to grow your career, what does that mean for you?
• What about growing your career is most important?
• What is your expected time horizon for moving to the next level (e.g., less than one year, one to two years or two-plus years)?
• What is your ability to relocate?
• What types of role(s) might interest you in the organization, and why?
While not all-inclusive, the coach’s questions can help David explore his current role and career aspirations for future potential roles in the organization. There are no promises, just clarity for David and a commitment on the part of the organization to work with David throughout his development journey. David can then use this information to discuss with his manager and create a plan for moving forward, aligning with his career aspirations and fitting the organization’s talent needs. Once David is clear on success in his current role and expectations for potential growth in the organization, he can work on closing the gap in his development and become the best version of himself.
In summary, no magic bullet exists for becoming a high performer. It is a multifaceted approach of role clarity and commitment to moving forward, one action step at a time. The leadership coach can serve as a resource to help promote this self-discovery and clarity needed for employees to make informed decisions and move forward in the direction they want to go. This focused approach to high performance benefits employees who seek clarity in their career journey, promotes retention and helps organizations grow their talent pipeline. If you’re looking to create your high-performance self, perhaps these questions can help move you forward.
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