
Usually, high-potential employees may have one or more of the following traits:
- Does acceptable work, but already meets competency demands of the next level
- Does acceptable work where he is, but can also function well at a level two or three steps higher
- Has the potential to lead the company at some time in the future - based on competence, affiliations and background.
What to do and not to do with high-potential employees basically depends upon what motivates or demotivates them. While the list of such factors that influence high-potential employees can be very big and beyond the scope of this article, a few generalizations can be made about such factors.
Motivating high-potential employees
Here are a few tips to motivate high-potential employees:
- Set realistic goals
- Show quick appreciation for good performance
- Share enthusiasm for good ideas
- Understand what they don't want, because the likes and dislikes of people vary
- Make high-potential employees engaged in challenging work
While the following are true for almost every employee, care needs to be taken that the following don't occur when dealing with people who are ready for promotion and will take on higher responsibilities in the future:
- Don't set unrealistic targets and workloads
- Don't micromanage
- Don't hold back on recognition
- Don't be unfair in criticizing
- Don't encourage people to ask always for permissions from higher-ups - it actually helps them to shed responsibility