LOW-POTENTIAL PEOPLE ALSO DESERVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW
It is a common belief that taking good care of people in a business organisation will encourage them to deliver excellent performance in the long term. However, not all executives practise what they preach. This may reflect a number of factors, including heavy work pressure, the inability of the subordinates themselves, or their low perceived growth potential.
If the issue relates to employees’ abilities, the top executive needs to take notice, as developing future leaders is part of the organisation’s long-term vision. However, few senior executives ever bother to learn about the abilities of moderate- and low-potential staff and seek ways to help them grow as much as they can.
I have been involved with the leadership development programme at a major multinational corporation where I provided coaching and consulting to members of a team led by Ms Kaewta (I have changed all names for this article). Some of the people on her team have outstanding profiles based on personality assessments and are ready to be promoted. Their performance was not a great concern for Ms Kaewta, but she expressed an interest in learning what could be done for other, seemingly less gifted people on the team.
The table shows the work-related personality profiles and cognitive ability scores of those team members considered to have low behavioural growth potential. Some of them report directly to Ms Kaewta and some do not.
Behavioural growth potential is a measure of the behavioural styles that relate to career growth and advancement. In this case the scores were in the low end, ranging from the third to the 26th percentile, ranked against a large group of people worldwide who have taken the same personality assessment. Ms Kaewta, in contrast, ranked in the 53rd percentile.
Cognitive ability refers to the ability to learn new concepts, solve problems and identify trends and relationships and draw conclusions. It comprises verbal reasoning, ability to analyse and correctly interpret written material, numerical reasoning, recognition of and ability to interpret numerical information, and abstract reasoning, or recognising structure and patterns within situations not previously experienced. Here is a brief explanation of how each person fared.
Nadia: With outstanding cognitive ability, she can understand and interpret numerical and conceptual issues faster than most executives. This complements her strong analytical thinking, which is in the 72nd percentile, so she can easily identify trends based on available information. However, her growth potential is only in the fifth percentile.
Naree: Her innovation and analytical thinking personality, combined with ability to interpret written information to understand abstract issues, provide her with a unique capability to handle responsibilities related to numbers. Despite a growth potential score of only 11, with her exceptional persistence she keeps going forward with her work even amid difficulty.
Preecha: An exceptional number cruncher, he is second to none at identifying trends that not everyone can easily detect. With some degree of dependability, initiative and persistence, he typically delivers his assignments as committed. The perceived downside is a behavioural growth potential score of just 15.
Somsri: Her cognitive ability related to calculation is 89, which means she can handle numerical reasoning better than most executives. She also has moderate verbal and abstract reasoning skills that enable her to refine and perfect her work if she wants to. With growth potential in the third percentile and a highly imaginative personality, Ms Somsri is a rare case of an executive who truly needs support and understanding from her superior.
Wilai: Although she prefers not to explore unproven ideas, Ms Wilai has creative and innovative ability to detect and project trends not experienced before. Her growth potential is on the low end at 8. She always meets deadlines for assignments, though she may find it a bit difficult because of a tendency to focus too much on details.
Wannaporn: A smart executive with high cognitive scores for numerical and abstract reasoning, she can easily understand complex issues, even those that she has never experienced before. She also tends to be punctual, does not miss deadlines and does not give up, even when major obstacles emerge. Her growth potential is in the 26th percentile.
That brings us finally to Ms Kaewta, whose profile shows her to be an outstanding number cruncher but poor in abstract reasoning. Although she cannot clearly see trends or patterns in situations she has never experienced before, she diplomatically and politely encourages suggestions from the others.
The fact is that all of the people discussed above have been promoted to broader responsibilities with higher job titles.
They all appreciate that Ms Kaewta has continuously understood and provided opportunities for them to grow.
If top executives focus only on developing, supporting and promoting highpotential managers, the organisation runs a higher risk of losing other people who are good and capable.
Low-potential people also deserve an opportunity to grow. Responsible executives must ensure proper development and succession planning in the same manner as explained above.