According to research from the Corporate Executive Board, 40% of internal job moves made by people identified by their companies as “high potentials” end in failure. Many organizations make the mistake of looking simply at ability when assessing an employee for a management job. Think of the hot-shot sales rep, or the genius software engineer. It is incredible how often high producing individuals are promoted into management jobs that require a totally different mindset to be successful.
The reason these people fail often comes down to three critical factors: leadership behaviors, aspiration, and engagement. Organizations should develop leadership competency models based on a set of traits and behaviors associated with success in the company, and then measure employees on how well they do relative to those traits. Organizations need to be sure they are assessing employees not just for the present, but for the future, looking at not only what has made people successful, but also what is likely to be important and what shortages they have.
These 10 questions, along with an effective assessment program, will help you more effectively identify high potential managers.