What "High Potential" Means Now
Everyone has potential to grow, but not everyone, has the potential to lead a large, complex organization in the near and distant future.
Today's high potential leaders, or "hipos," must be able to identify the untapped opportunities their companies will pursue and mobilize in the organization. They should exhibit three characteristics that the previous generation of leaders did not always need:
- They imagine on a large scale. Hipos can take in a ton of information from many different sources and almost instantly find what could be meaningful. For example, Alphabet, now the umbrella company for Google and other subsidiaries, has a whole population of people who are working to solve the world's biggest problems.
- They seek what they need to make it happen. Hipos will talk to anyone. They don't just stay within the hierarchy. A young Steve Jobs didn't hesitate to call Bill Hewlett, co-founder of tech giant Hewlett-Packard, when he was seeking technical help.
- They understand the concept of the ecosystem. Companies rarely act alone in delivering their product or service. Hipos understand the complex web of participants, from the makers of small parts that go into larger ones to the mom-and-pop shops or FedEx fleet that delivers the product.
Hipos will come primarily from the 53 million millennials in the work force now. Text messaging and Twitter train them to be brief and to the point. With a wide mental bandwidth and ability to absorb key information, they can construct a bigger picture very quickly.
The primary reason companies like Facebook, GE, Netflix win today is the quality of their generals. Never before has it been more valuable to have or to become a high potential leader; one who can set the path and execute a winning plan in this digital age.
Source: Ram Charan: The High Potential Leader: How to Grow Fast, Take on New Responsibilities, and Make an Impact (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership)