First and foremost, you should base all your efforts on the fact that high potentials are not versatile employees who can achieve great results every time and everywhere. Their success depends on the particular environment. HR professionals usually only identify the competencies and skills these employees must meet but forget about the specific context of their work. The best employees' potential lies in how they can apply their skills in the daily course of their work.
Do not send high potentials on training
If you want your high potential employees to develop fully their potential, you should not isolate them in training programmes teaching abstract skills. According to clomedia.com, the right approach is to monitor their work and try to replicate their work practices on a broader base of employees.
It is not just a matter of identifying what makes high potentials different but also where they apply their skills. Once you identify your high potentials, do not develop them but study them. Where do they spend their working time? What practices do they devote most energy to? Where can they see the greatest benefits of their leadership? Then apply the identified practices on your average performing employees and observe the change that will occur.
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