Talent Identification
Identifying and assessing leadership potential can be a complex challenge.
An employee's current high performance does not predict future leadership potential. On average only about one third of an organisation’s current high performers will have the potential to rise to more senior, critical leadership positions. So, how do you work out which ones they are?
We believe to have the best chance of success three areas should first be assessed. The Horizons Talent Wheel includes a few additional metrics which can be adapted to suit organisation’s needs but these three are a great place to start.
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Ability
An employee’s ability consists of characteristics such as capacity to process complex ideas, to think broadly and quickly, to perceive and respond to their own and others' emotions and learned skills such as technical, functional and interpersonal skills. These characteristics are normally described in leadership competency models and are the core set of skills that than an employee will need to excel in a more senior role in their organisation. Without the right level of ability the probability of their success at the next level is very low.
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Engagement
Engagement is the extent to which an employee commits to an organisation and how hard they work. Employees emotionally commit to an organisation when they derive pride, enjoyment, inspiration or meaning from something or someone within the organisation. Engagement can also be about an employee feeling that their organisation is providing financial, developmental or personal rewards that are in their best interests. These forms of commitment drive the discretionary effort that employees invest in their work and the extent to which they intend to remain loyal to the organisation. If they are not engaged with the business they are likely to have limited success at the next level.
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Ambition
Whilst this can slow down and speed up depending on the stage in a person’s life, there should be a clear pattern and demonstration of the desire, drive and passion that it takes to progress through a leadership career. If they lack ambition to progress to the next level their probability of success will be weakened.
When all three factors of ability, engagement and ambition are present you are likely to have identified the employees who could pursue a leadership career and assist the organisations’ in achieving its growth plans.
Horizons Talent has developed a range of tools to help management identify, discuss and agree who they think has the ability, engagement and ambition to be potential leadership talent.