Companies want to invest the time to train and develop people who they believe will be successful. But how do you know which employees have the most potential?
Inc. shares the following traits to help you identify high-potential employees.
- They are all in. Although people typically should not be pressured to do something that is not their job, a high-potential employee is willing to jump in when he or she is needed.
- They fail a lot. High-potential employees are willing to take risks, which is crucial to growth. They are not afraid to bring up new ideas in meetings—even if some of those ideas ultimately are shot down. Someone who willingly tries new things sometimes will fail, but they also sometimes will succeed.
- They are willing to do the boring parts. There are more tedious things that are necessary if you want to solve higher-level problems, such as effectively managing your inbox, reading contracts carefully and creating standard operating procedures.
- They have goals and want feedback. If an employee is not thinking about his or her own career, the employee likely will not reach his or her potential. High-potential employees set their own goals and work on goals assigned by their boss, who should work to support their goals.
- They build from one lesson to the next. High-potential employees look for connections and can take a lesson and apply it next time. A good example is having cross-functional skills. An employee may take a lesson learned in marketing and apply it to operations because they are aware of the connections.
