Leading High Potential Team Members

High potential team members exhibit certain characteristics and behaviors:
Leadership Qualities: They demonstrate a desire to lead, take initiative on projects, and inspire others.
Personality Traits: Traits like the need for achievement, emotional stability, self-awareness, conscientiousness, and empathy signal high potential.
Behavior: High-potential employees typically exhibit a high capability to learn, cooperate well with team members, and adapt to challenges.
Humility: They display humility, are self-aware, praise others' skills, welcome feedback, and are open to learning and growth.
Collaboration: While driven, they also excel in forming partnerships and working effectively with others]. 
Curious Over Judgmental: High-potentials are open to exploring new or creative ideas instead of being judgmental or only relying on past methods of doing things.
Higher Risk Tolerance: HiPos look to solve risks, difficulties, or challenges head-on.
Social/Soft Skills: Most high-potential employees need soft skills just as much as technical knowledge. This includes leadership skills, empathy, and creativity.
Self-Motivated and Driven: HiPos will take initiative to get work done and help foster growth.
Committed and Engaged: High-potential employees are loyal and committed to the company and other employees. This means they will also be engaged in long-term success and growth.
Flexibility: Another way to notice high-potential employees’ performance and potential is by how flexible they are. HiPos are flexible and can adapt to any change that may be thrown their way.
Fosters Positive Relationships: High-potential employees will also help create positive internal and external relationships with employees, coworkers, and clients. This allows the company to grow in multiple ways. 
Demonstrates Leadership Qualities: High-potential talent should show the desire to lead. Whether it’s taking the lead on a new project or showing initiative to go above and beyond their job description, leadership qualities are important for HiPos employees.
Flexible in Changing Environments: With how quickly business practices change in today’s world, adapting to new changes on the fly can show you that your employee might be ready for high-potential development.
Entrepreneurial: High-potential employees should have a strong business acumen, be able to look out for the business as a whole and suggest new ideas when applicable. This helps foster their growth as well as that of the company.

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To effectively lead high potential team members in a high growth business, leaders should:

1. Identify Potential: Recognize and nurture talent early on, identifying individuals with the capacity for growth and leadership 
2. Provide Growth Opportunities: Offer challenging assignments, training programs, and mentorship to help high-potentials develop their skills and leadership capabilities.
3. Offer Leadership Opportunities: Create avenues for high-potentials to take on leadership roles or lead projects, empowering them to showcase their abilities and drive.
4. Communicate Vision and Expectations: Clearly communicate organizational goals and expectations, aligning high- potentials' efforts with the company's trajectory.
5. Provide Feedback and Support: Offer regular feedback and support, helping high potentials understand their strengths, areas for improvement, and career advancement opportunities.
6. Promote a Culture of Innovation: Foster an environment where high-potentials feel encouraged to innovate, take calculated risks, and contribute ideas to drive business growth
7. Cultivate a Culture of Excellence: Recognizing and developing leadership potential sends a powerful message to all employees that hard work and talent are rewarded. This, in turn, fosters a culture of excellence, encouraging others to strive for higher performance levels.
8. Succession Planning: As current leaders retire, move on to new roles, or face unexpected departures, having a pool of potential leaders ready to step up ensures a smooth transition and minimizes disruptions in critical positions.
9. Nurture and Enhance Decision-Making: Leaders with potential possess a broader understanding of the organization and its goals. Investing in their development equips them with the knowledge and experience needed to make well-informed and strategic decisions.

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