“Hi-po’s” are people who are partway up the mountain, but still have some way to climb. They are recognized as having high potential, and can be groomed or promoted as future leaders in an organization, but don’t always have the strategic vision or breadth of skill set required to successfully take on senior leadership roles.
Many managers have an instinctive sense of who those high performers are, but there is no certainty that hi-po’s will realize their full potential. As a manager of hi-po’s, you need to ensure you and your organization offer consistent, conscious support or you will risk demotivating or losing the hi-po talent it is so hard to replace. Here are some typical pitfalls that prevent the successful identification and development of hi-po’s:
No identified criteria. Without a clear framework or understanding of what is important in a leader, it is hard to know what you are looking to develop in the next generation. Taking time to make explicit what your organization needs in its leaders, and what model of leadership works best, will help you to identify who has the potential to make the grade, and to decide whether an internal candidate is preferable to a potential external recruit.
- No clear, transparent process for advancement or career enrichment. If there are no objective metrics or path to promotion and career development, organizations can be accused of randomness, favoritism, nepotism and worse, thus undermining morale and ensuring that hi-po’s will not wait around. This is a particularly sensitive topic when there is a dominant culture, and not enough efforts are made to enhance diversity. Creating a path and development experiences for hi-po’s is critical for establishing your employer brand and for ensuring the success of hi-po’s.
- Succession planning not viewed as important. Many organizations live in willful blindness about the future, somehow believing that the current generation of leaders will be there forever. It may be painful or difficult to think about one’s own professional demise or retirement, but leaders who are interested in leaving a positive legacy need to give every opportunity to those who will follow them.
- Assumption that hi-po’s can self-manage and find their own way. Sometimes true, but having sponsorship and support can propel them to much greater performance and achievement than if they are left entirely to fend for themselves.
- Misguided belief that hi-po’s have to be young. In flatter organizations, the old up-or-out career path is obsolete. There are many people who are seeking career enhancement, not necessarily advancement, and would be delighted to take a lateral career move if it would allow them to fulfill untapped potential. Organizations should stay alive to people’s hidden talents and aspirations and resist keeping them in a box. Hi-po’s could be lurking where you least expect them, and the opportunity cost of not developing them is high.
If you are a hi-po, there are some dangerous pitfalls facing you too. Some typical hi-po dilemmas are:
Mistaken belief that good work is all that is needed. Some hi-po’s can be too passive. They hope they will be noticed, recognized and promoted, without actively managing how they are perceived. Without the extra step of raising their visibility and ensuring that they are heard, their hi-po careers may stumble.
- Failure to transition from doer to leader. The most common dilemma is the struggle to move from being a hi-po, recognized for technical expertise, to being someone who works with and through others to achieve bigger goals. Closing the expert-achiever gap requires a willingness to delegate, to rely on others, and to let go of a certain amount of control, entrusting and empowering others. Just at the moment that one is tapped for a higher leadership role, one feels most vulnerable, and can cling to old routines. “It’s quicker/easier/more efficient to do it myself” I often hear people say. And yet, the refusal to delegate or to let go of some of the details, serves to hamper the development of one’s leadership potential. It is important to embrace the paradox of promotion, and to allow yourself to be a beginner in your new, larger role.
- Over-reliance on strengths. Often, the strengths that had served the hi-po well, become overused or outdated. It is important to broaden out or develop new skill sets as your role expands. Some of the typical skills that hi-po’s need to master are developing their strategic thinking capabilities, executive messaging and presence, influencing skills, political sensibilities, and working through others to bring about change.
- Failure to seek feedback and support. Enrolling others in your development is critical. The more vocal and transparent you are about your development goals, and the more feedback you solicit, the more support you will get and the more noticeable will be the changes. In organizations whose culture frowns upon this type of communication, the hi-po may choose to play it safe and not appear vulnerable or needy. This is a lost opportunity for both the individual and the organization, as staying in your comfort zone will ensure that you remain in the same place, and you may never develop your leadership potential or get to enjoy the view at the top of that mountain.