What is a High-Potential Program (HiPo)?
You are likely awake at night worrying about your best people. There is a specific type of anxiety that hits a business owner when they realize their venture is entirely dependent on their own presence to function. You want to build something that lasts, something that has value beyond your own hourly input. To do that, you need a team that can eventually step into your shoes or run new divisions as you expand.
The fear that your most talented employees will get bored and leave is valid. You know they are capable of more, and they know it too. Often, we get stuck in the weeds of daily operations and forget to look at the long term trajectory of our staff. This is where understanding and implementing a High-Potential Program, often shortened to HiPo, becomes a critical tool for your survival and sanity.
Understanding the High-Potential Program
A High-Potential Program is a structured development track designed specifically for employees who show the capacity to grow into senior leadership roles. It is not a reward for past work, although good work is a prerequisite. It is an investment in the future of the company.
These programs are distinct from standard training. While standard training ensures everyone is competent in their current roles, a HiPo program focuses on preparing individuals for roles that do not yet exist or for levels of responsibility they have not yet held. It involves specific mechanics designed to test and stretch the employee:
- Mentoring from senior leadership
- Cross functional rotation to understand the whole business
- Stretch assignments that carry real risk of failure
- Specialized executive education
High Potential vs High Performance
One of the most dangerous traps you can fall into as a manager is confusing high performance with high potential. They are not the same thing. Mistaking one for the other is how businesses end up with terrible managers who were excellent individual contributors.
High potential is about the future. It is characterized by aspiration, ability, and engagement. A high potential employee might not be your top seller today, but they demonstrate a hunger to learn, an ability to adapt to totally new situations, and the emotional intelligence to lead people through change.
Identifying the Right Candidates
When you are looking to build this bench strength, you need to look for specific behavioral indicators. You are looking for people who can handle the stress you feel every day.
Consider these traits when evaluating your team:
- Catalytic learning: Do they absorb new ideas and immediately apply them to improve the business?
- Enterprising spirit: Do they wait for instructions, or do they identify gaps and fill them without being asked?
- Dynamic sensing: Can they read the room and navigate complex interpersonal situations without guidance?
It is vital to ask yourself if you are selecting people who look and think like you, or if you are selecting people who actually have the raw material to lead. Bias is a significant risk here. You might be inclined to pick the person who is easiest to work with, rather than the person who challenges the status quo.
The Risks of Exclusivity
Implementing a HiPo program introduces new variables into your team dynamic. By designating a specific group as future leaders, you are implicitly telling the rest of the staff that they are not currently viewed in that light. This can lead to disengagement among your steady, high performing staff who keep the lights on.
There are questions we must grapple with in this process. How transparent should you be about who is on the list? If you tell someone they are high potential, do they become entitled and stop working as hard? If you keep it secret, how do they know they have a future with you?
Scientific literature on organizational psychology suggests that transparency varies based on culture, but the risk of creating a “crown prince” syndrome where the anointed feel untouchable is real. You must balance the need to retain your future leaders with the need to maintain a cohesive culture where every contribution is valued. This is not about creating a class system within your small business. It is about resource allocation and ensuring you have the support you need to let your business thrive.
