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The diagram below shows a typical view of the leadership pipeline with the HIPO track along the left
hand side of the diagram. This diagram suggests there are three pools of potential leadership talent
in a given organization. High potential candidates can be front line managers, middle managers and
functional leaders. Some companies with specialties like engineering and research also maintain a
HIPO Specialist Track along side the HIPO career track for general managers.
Business
Leaders
Functional
Leaders
ls
tia
ten
Middle
Po
Managers
h
Hig
First Line
Managers
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The Science of Selecting HIPOs
To ensure a reliable process of selecting HIPO talent we recommend that three factors should be
measured for each candidate. By ensuring that the candidate has career drive, including mobility,
we know this person has the ambition and flexibility to invest in their growth and development for
a future leadership role with the company. Understanding a persons career aspirations allows the
company to better chart a career path for each HIPO candidate. We now live in a one-size-fits-one
world, so using the same career path options for younger, talented professionals no longer works.
It is also important that the candidate demonstrates consistent high performance in their current role.
We prefer to see consistent job performance over a minimum two year period and across two direct
managers. Finally, leadership agility has emerged to be the strongest predictor for how well leader
candidates will do working at a level above their current role. The more flexible and adaptive leaders
are, the more likely they are to succeed. While we believe that learning agility is a key success factor
for leadership, we think agility must also be applied to successfully lead strategy, execution and
interpersonal relations. The rationale for agility is that the research is clear that high agility organiza-
tions far outperform industry peers on all measures including long term financial performanace.
Agile organizations require agile leaders.
3. Organizational
Confidence &
Work Performance
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Common Mistakes Made in Managing the HIPO
Talent Pool
To avoid selecting candidates that will not succeed in future roles it is important to avoid the following
traps. Most managers will nominate high performers who are not actually high potentials based on
past performance only, but not validate the selection with some form of observational or psychometric
assessment. Managers assume that high performers are automatically high potentials. The research
is clear that this is not the case, when in fact only 20% or less of high performing employees are
also high potential. A manager may be a high performer at their current level, but struggle at a higher
level business leadership role due to increased demands and capabilities required to succeed in
those roles. Secondly, after implementing a HIPO program in the company there is no organizational
system or processes to develop, rotate or deploy candidates to help them gain the right experience
to prepare them for their next role. We know that HIPO leaders develop best through job based
exposure and stretch experiences, so the organization must have a process to support these
activities. For these high potential leaders who are not managed under a structured development
process, many or most lose faith in the company providing for their career and they may leave
the company to pursue their careers with another firm. We know that many or most stay with
their current companies when they can see their future aligned with the companys future.
Below is a recommended process for selection, development and deployment of high potential talent.
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The 4E Approach for Accelerated Development
and Sustained Behavior Change
Right Managements 4E development approach is adapted from the Corporate Leadership Councils
research on best practices for accelerating leader development and future role readiness. The ideal
mix of development should be comprised of 25% education, 25% exposure and 50% experience,
along with a measure of effectiveness. Exposure and experience are best provided, in our experi-
ence, through action learning approaches.
On-the-job tasks
Stretch projects/opportunities
Job rotations and transfers
50%
Feedback
Role models
Visibility opportunities
25%
Mentoring, coaching & sponsoring others
Our recommendation is that HIPO programs should leverage interdisciplinary development approaches
into an integrated leadership development experience. This includes development that grows business
acumen together with core leadership skills. The diagram at the top of the following page illustrates
elements that can be combined into an effective development program. Our research indicates that
Action Learning is one the most powerful ways to close the leadership skill gap and get the HIPO
leaders ready for their next role. There is ongoing debate on the exact percentages for education,
exposure and experience activity, but our view is that the majority of HIPO development should focus
on exposure and experience activities.
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Education Experience and Exposure
Leader Capability
Domains
Lead Yourself Business Coaching/
Lead People Leader Mentoring
Lead Strategy
Lead Execution
The diagram above illustrates the recommended education focus. The training curriculum should
be organized by the four leadership capability domains: Leading Yourself, Leading People, Leading
Strategy and Leading Execution. We also recommend group based business simulations as the
fastest way to grow business acumen and P&L management skills.
Business
Executive Development Leaders Leading for Performance
Center EMCO Program (LFP)
Functional
Leaders
ls
Managers
Leadership Development
First Line Skills Suite Modules
Managers
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Teachable Fit An Innovative Approach to
Unleashing Potential
Research into the psychology of leadership development has shown that some elements of leadership
are easier to develop than others. Right Management has developed a tool to help clients understand
these dynamics and we call this the Teachable Fit Framework.
Important? Teachable?
Capabilities
1 (low) - 5 (high) 1 (low) - 5 (high)
Skills Technical
Demonstrated aptitudes
and practices, both Problem Solving
hard and soft
Communication
Planning/Organization
Collaboration/Teamwork
Capacity to Learn
Ideally, when considering HIPO candidates for business leadership roles, we need to understand the
key capabilities required for the role, along with the importance and teachability of each capability.
Knowledge and skills required for a new role can be development in a reasonable timeframe with
a personal commitment to grow from the leader, along with a high quality development process
provided by the company. But a leaders values, mindset, intelligience and personality elements
are very difficult to change in a reasonable timeframe. Therefore we recommend you grow the
knowledge and skillset required for the new role, while also helping that leader manage and align
values, mindset and personality to fit the role requirements. We believe its very important for the
company and the HIPO candidate to understand what is coachable and what is not coachable
(fit) for the future roles they are considering.
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Implementation Guidelines
It is important to remember that the format of a program for high potential talent selection
and development should be organization specific. Each company has unique business
priorities, operating culture and key leadership capabilities. While leveraging the best practices
outlined in this document, be sure to configure your companys high potential selection and
development process so it is fit for purpose. Our view is not to make your high potential process
overly complicated. Focus on 3-4 core leadership capabilities required to take the organization
to the next stage of growth and focus on action learning, or job based learning, as the primary
development approach.
Finally, ensure that the high potential candidates have a way to provide input early on regarding
their personal career aspiration and goals. In this way you get strong engagement from your high
potential leaders and they more clearly see their professional future in the future of your company.
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For Further Information
www.right.com
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