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Learning Connections

Published March 2010

Is Your Talent on the Roof?

 

  Kevin D. Wilde

There is an old story of a vacationer calling his house sitter to determine if everything at home is OK.

"Everything is fine, but I'm sorry to say that your favorite cat Fluffy died," the house sitter reported in an unsympathetic, matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh, no, that's terrible news — and you shouldn't be so direct in telling me," replied the distraught homeowner. "Break it to me slowly," he continued. "First, tell me Fluffy is up on the roof. Then next time I call, tell me she is off the roof but caught a bad cold. Then on the third call, tell me you took Fluffy to the vet and she couldn't be saved.

"Now, tell me, how is grandma?"

There was a pause, and then the house sitter replied, "Oh, she's fine — but she is on the roof right now!"

Telling the Truth About Potential

Working in HR often requires confronting challenging situations and communicating tough messages. Unfortunately, we can confuse people by being too obtuse or avoiding difficult conversations altogether. I find we are most conflicted about whether to inform employees about their potential.

This ambiguity about telling them is unfortunate and has adverse consequences. High-potential employees are romanced away by other firms because they don't know about the bright futures they have with their present employers. Learning about it while trying to resign lacks credibility. On the other hand, good performers obsessing about their potential label can be distracting and destroy any sense of teamwork. Some may have inflated expectations for rapid advancement when they have yet to benefit from critical lessons in their current roles. When HR isn't clear on the right position or is inconsistent across the enterprise, it reinforces the perception that it is soft-headed and fragmented.

The Landing Spots

To get clear on this whole telling thing, first, recognize that you can only select one of three positions.

• In the dark: Ignore the question of potential and keep employees focused on today's work.
• Sunshine: Practice total transparency and regularly inform all employees of how the organization judges their futures.
• Partly cloudy: This legitimate middle position is fine as long as it is thoughtfully considered and well-executed. There are two options. One, strategically inform certain employee populations, such as fast-track development participants or critical capability pipeline people, but not all. The second option is to tell all employees some things about potential but not to employ full disclosure. For example, be forthcoming about advancement opportunities or the timing of interdepartmental moves.

The Guidelines

These three questions can point to the right position for your organization.

1. Are you confident in the call? Can your managers make quality calibration judgments? Are your nine blocks more a work of fiction or real assessments of who is capable of filling greater roles? Is the distinction between performance and potential clearly understood? Do your managers have a good handle on what the critical needs for future roles are? Are your talent succession discussions — the collective calibrations — rigorous and regular?
2. Is it useful for employees to know? Will employees benefit from knowing? In an aggressive, performance-oriented culture, employees should know their prospects. Should their energy be spent getting ready to move up or move out? Likewise, will the organization benefit from a talent pool in a constant state of churn, or would the organization benefit from retained knowledge and steady, team-oriented performers? Does the tell position align with your reward scheme?
3. Can the message be delivered well? To what degree can managers deftly inform employees about their potential? I once worked with an executive so bad at communicating the right message to talent that our best often left his office thinking their careers were coming to an end. We finally learned to automatically schedule a recovery meeting with HR every time a high potential went to visit the executive.

Good Talent Sitting

As the talent sitters for the organization, we shouldn't be muddled about communicating potential. Take the position of telling if your managers can make good judgments and inform employees well and if transparency is useful to the employee and the organization. If you can't respond as confidently in these three aspects, take a mixed or no-tell position.