Thought Leadership

Identifying
High Potential
Talent
The unmistakable markers that
identify future-ready leaders

Strong leaders can be the key differentiator for an organization—or a

limiting factor, when in short supply.
Korn Ferry’s research on organizational Yet, knowing doesn’t equal doing. Although
transformation shows that confidence in senior many organizations have a formal process to
leadership explains 50% of the difference in identify high potential talent, few professionals are
revenue growth between highly transformational confident that their organizations have the future
companies and less transformational ones (Korn leaders they need (29%) or are selecting the right
Ferry, in press). But even with the right leaders, it people for their high potential programs (14%), the
is important to prepare a pipeline of high potential same Korn Ferry survey found (Korn Ferry, 2020).
talent who can take on new growth opportunities
or step in when people move up—or on. This disconnect may be fueled by how
organizations typically find high potential talent
How can organizations predict who will become for their leadership pipelines. Managers or other
a successful leader? After all, research shows champions often nominate employees as high
that a person’s current job performance is not a potential based on their performance. But this
good predictor of potential. And none of us can is problematic—not only because it is based on
see into the future. The best bet? Look for the a vague definition of “high potential,” but also
strong rudders that steer leaders steadily through because it conflates potential and performance.
uncertain, unpredictable, and changing situations.
In order to be ready for the future, organizations
This idea is not revolutionary. In fact, in a survey will have to evolve their approach to identifying
Korn Ferry conducted in 2019, the vast majority high potential leadership development today. This
(98%) of human resources professionals said includes using science-based assessment.
that identifying high potential talent is critical
for success. Moreover, 82% said more emphasis All high potential talent have essential markers that
was placed on their high potential development indicate their likelihood of future success. Overall,
programs compared with five years ago. the clearer the signal on the greatest number of
attributes, the better the odds that a person will be
a high-performing leader.

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 Thought Leadership

Drawing on our databases and expertise, Korn

Ferry refined our understanding of what these
attributes are (Korn Ferry, 2018–2019). We
measure 18 qualities that are strong indicators of
leadership potential, falling into these six key areas:

ƒ Leadership Traits: The building blocks of who

we are

ƒ Learning Agility: The willingness and ability to

learn from experience

ƒ Drivers of Leadership: Key motivators that

propel us

ƒ Key Experiences: A track record of

developmental roles, assignments, and
challenges

ƒ Capacity for Problem Solving: The aptitude

for logic and reasoning

ƒ Managed Derailment Risks: The awareness and

mitigation of potential risk factors

2 Copyright © 2020 Korn Ferry. All rights reserved.

 Thought Leadership

Leadership Traits: The building The more a person’s traits align with what is
required for leadership success, the greater
blocks of who we are the potential for superior performance in the
All of us are disposed to behave in certain ways. future. Senior leaders stand out in terms of their
We have underlying tendencies or preferences Assertiveness, Tolerance of Ambiguity, Optimism,
that inform our actions and decisions. These and Persistence (see Figure 1). So, when identifying
personality traits are part of our identity, helping high potential, organizations should pay close
to define who each of us is Extroverts tend to seek attention to these traits. People early in their career
social engagement. People who are achievement- may show they can take charge, are comfortable
oriented are likely to set very challenging goals. with uncertainty, remain upbeat despite setbacks,
And people with high leadership potential show a and continue to pursue long-term goals. These are
tendency to act like leaders. all signs that they will excel as leaders, given the
right opportunities to develop.

Figure 1. Senior leaders stand out in terms of their Assertiveness, Tolerance of Ambiguity, Optimism, and Persistence.

Copyright © 2020 Korn Ferry. All rights reserved. 3

 Thought Leadership

Learning Agility: The willingness

and ability to learn from experience Facets of Learning Agility
When one considers what it will take to lead
People with high…
organizations into the future, the ability to navigate
the uncertainties and complexity of the globalized …Mental Agility are inquisitive
economy looms large. To succeed, leaders will have and enjoy tackling new, complex
to tackle the new, never-before, and yet-unknown, challenges.
while also driving positive results. …People Agility are insightful
about interpersonal situations and
Responsibilities change as people move from
adept at getting things done with
being individual contributors to helping others
and through others.
contribute. There is a further shift as people
progress to leading strategically. They tackle …Change Agility relish change,
more complex problems with broader scope, and exploring possibilities, and
increasingly work through others to get results. building new approaches.
And as the scope of work expands, they take on …Results Agility overcome
new, more complex opportunities—ones they obstacles and deliver results on
must handle effectively for their organizations to challenging stretch assignments.
thrive.
…Situational Self-Awareness focus
Learning agility—the willingness and ability to on the present with awareness of
learn from experience—is essential to succeeding the impact people have on them
in new conditions. It helps people extract lessons (and vice versa), adjusting their
from their experiences and effectively apply those approach in new situations.
lessons to unfamiliar situations. It’s no surprise,
then, that learning agility is a core asset of
leadership—and consequently, the facets of agility
are key markers of potential. organization (see Figure 2). What’s more, research
shows that learning agility predicts learning and
Study after study has underscored the importance performance (Laxson, 2018), as well as promotion
of learning agility to leaders. Not only are leaders rate and salary growth (Dai, De Meuse, & Tang,
who are more agile more engaged in their current 2013). And organizations with highly agile
roles (Korn Ferry, 2019), but also average levels executives have 25% higher profit margins than
of learning agility increase with each level in the their peer group (Swisher & Dai, 2014).

Figure 2. Scores across leadership levels for Mental Agility, People Agility, Change Agility, Results Agility, and
Situational Self-Awareness.

4 Copyright © 2020 Korn Ferry. All rights reserved.

 Thought Leadership

Drivers of Leadership: success. Leadership becomes progressively more

challenging at every level, and the demands on
Key motivators that propel us time and energy increase. If the work doesn’t align
Talk to mid-level managers, and you will quickly to what drives them, it is unlikely that any leader
discover many are happy where they are, with no will have the energy and resilience needed to
desire to move to roles at higher levels (“There is thrive—or even survive.
no amount of money that would get me to take People with less leadership potential typically cite
my boss’s job.”). You also will discover many who the perks of the role (think title, pay, prestige) as
would do the work even if you didn’t pay them (“I their primary drivers. High potential leaders, on the
love this job. I can’t believe they pay me to do it.”). other hand, cite the nature of the work as what
Drivers are the preferences, values, and motivations drives them: the opportunity to make a difference
that shape professional aspirations. They help us (Challenge), to work with their co-workers to
answer questions around what we find rewarding achieve shared goals (Collaboration), and to have
and important. People with leadership potential greater scope of responsibility (Power). And as
find the role of a leader interesting and the work leadership rank increases, the average scores for
of leading motivating and fun, which is crucial to Challenge, Collaboration, and Power do as well
(see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Three drivers stand out for senior leaders: Challenge, Collaboration, and Power.

Copyright © 2020 Korn Ferry. All rights reserved. 5

 Thought Leadership

Key Experiences: A track record of deep developmental opportunities that get people
out of their comfort zones and into unfamiliar
developmental roles, assignments, territory (think managing a turnaround, leading
and challenges during a crisis, heading a start-up). Perspective,
on the other hand, involves experiences working in
New experiences are at the heart of learning various settings (think different industries, different
to lead, making them an important marker of functions, different countries). These diverse
potential. Key career experiences build the encounters expose people to different knowledge,
abilities of high-performing leaders, and the more approaches, and ways of getting results.
developmental experiences leaders accumulate,
the greater the likelihood they will succeed after A leader who is behind the curve, who lacks one or
promotion to the next level. more relevant experiences, will have to learn these
lessons while they are also learning the job. This
Two types of experiences stand out: Key extra demand, at a time of rapid change, makes
Challenges and Perspective. Key Challenges are the transition risky and more likely to go awry.
critical stretch assignments that allow people to Too much challenge can hinder performance and
handle responsibilities with “heat,” often with broad development (Hezlett, 2016), illustrating the value
scope, high visibility, substantial ambiguity, and a of having the right experiences at the right time.
significant risk of failure. These assignments offer

Figure 4. Scores on Key Challenges and Perspective tend to increase as leadership levels increase.

6 Copyright © 2020 Korn Ferry. All rights reserved.

 Thought Leadership

Capacity for Problem Solving: to ensuring that the problem gets solved. Leaders
who are able to shift out of individual problem-
The aptitude for logic and reasoning solving mode and into the job of coaching others
The research is clear: High performing leaders to analyze problems will be more likely to succeed
are effective analytical and conceptual thinkers in senior leadership roles.
(Judge, Colbert, & Ilies, 2004). They spot patterns Likewise, organizations that rely on individual
and trends in data that others miss. And they solve problem-solving as their sole or even primary
problems adeptly—first individually, and then as indicator of high leadership potential risk flooding
leaders—by marshaling and focusing resources on their pipeline with people who will peak in mid-
the right challenges. level roles. For this reason, it’s risky to assess
But there is an important consideration as a person’s capacity to solve problems without
someone progresses in leadership: a person’s role also considering how this ability is deployed in a
changes from being the primary problem solver leadership role.

Copyright © 2020 Korn Ferry. All rights reserved. 7

 Thought Leadership

Managed Derailment Risks: willingness to follow a leader—and therefore, be

considerably more damaging. For these reasons,
The awareness and mitigation of it is imperative that both organizations and high
potential risk factors potential leaders understand and manage the
potential hazards associated with derailment risks.
A perennial topic for the cover of business
magazines is the high-level leader who self- Careful assessment of derailment risks offers
destructs, sometimes ruining not just their career, insight into propensities that may cause trouble
but also sabotaging the entire organization. for otherwise successful leaders, particularly
when they face stressful, ambiguous, or complex
The higher the job level, the greater the risk of situations. People who are highly Volatile may be
derailment. Expectations are higher and the easily provoked or rattled when stressed. Those
consequences of failure can have far-reaching known for Micro-Managing may monitor work too
impact. At the same time, some behaviors don’t closely, giving people too little say over how they
become a career risk until a leader reaches a work. And people who are Closed may tend to
higher-level position. dismiss different perspectives and be rigid in their
approaches to work (see Figure 6).
Organizations are infamous for tolerating “quirky
but high-producing” sales representatives or Derailment risks are not fate. Some people who
“eccentric but brilliant” professionals in technical score high on derailment risks may not experience
roles. But these positions depend almost entirely situations that trigger potentially problematic
on individual performance. Success as a leader, behaviors. Others equipped with early awareness
on the other hand, stems from the energy and of these risks may develop and deploy strategies to
commitment of the people being led. mitigate the possible issues. Derailment risks offer
powerful insights for proactive development and
What may be tolerated in a high-performing
risk management.
individual contributor can undermine trust in and

Figure 5. Scores across leadership levels for Volatile, Micro-Managing, and Closed.

8 Copyright © 2020 Korn Ferry. All rights reserved.

 Thought Leadership

Conclusion mold. That’s why we recommend organizations

take a methodical and objective approach to
Many factors—retirements, organizational growth, assessing potential in conjunction with their talent
new strategic challenges, restructuring—fuel the reviews: to increase accuracy and remove bias.
need to identify and cultivate a pipeline of talent.
Identifying high potential talent early, then, lets an Those without the traits of leaders will have
organization deliberately develop future leaders to work even harder to manage the stress of
so that when a need arises, someone with the leadership. Those who aren’t agile learners won’t
requisite ability is prepared to step up to the take away valuable lessons from their experiences.
challenge. This is the only truly proactive way to Those who don’t have the drivers for leadership
manage a talent pipeline. will find their jobs draining rather than energizing.
Those short on key experiences won’t hit the
What, after all, is the other option? Wait and see ground running. Those with high derailment risks
who has the skills to succeed only after they’ve will need to dedicate time to evading challenges
stepped into leadership, then replace them if they or learning workarounds. And those who aren’t
fail? This is time consuming, expensive, and fraught quick to reason out solutions with their teams will
with pitfalls. struggle to be effective.

To succeed in this hyperdemanding, hyperchanging Our research has honed what we know about the
world, having the right leaders at the right time key attributes that drive success—and those traits,
becomes a key differentiator. Yet, only 13% of HR drivers, experiences, and agilities are clear. Find
professionals surveyed reported using science- high potential talent who are motivated to lead,
based assessment to identify high potential talent can learn from experience, have a knack for solving
(Korn Ferry, 2020). This is a miss for the rest, problems, and are ready to tackle derailment risks,
particularly because the science of assessing for and you’ve found those people on the fast track to
high potential continues to advance. becoming high-performing leaders.

High potential employees can sometimes hide in Or, put another way: he leaders you need
plain sight. Or they may not fit a preconceived tomorrow are right in front of you today.

Copyright © 2020 Korn Ferry. All rights reserved. 9

 Thought Leadership

References Authors
Dai, G., De Meuse, K. P., & Tang, K. Y. (2013). J. Evelyn Orr
The role of learning agility in executive career VP, COO, Korn Ferry Institute
success: The results of two field studies. Journal of
Managerial Issues, 25(2), 108–131. Sarah Hezlett
Senior Director, Korn Ferry Institute
Hezlett, S. A. (2016). Enhancing experience-driven
leadership development. Advances in Developing
Human Resources, 18(3), 369–389. https://doi.
org/10.1177/1523422316645887

Judge, T. A., Colbert, A. E., & Ilies, R. (2004).

Intelligence and leadership: A quantitative review
and test of theoretical propositions. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 89(3), 542–552. https://doi.
org/10.1037/0021-9010.89.3.542

Korn Ferry (2020, February 4). Less than a third

of HR professionals are confident they have the
right leaders for the future. https://www.kornferry.
com/about-us/press/less-than-a-third-of-hr-
professionals-are-confident

Korn Ferry (2018-2019). Korn Ferry Assess –

Potential Solution: Leadership potential report
research guide and technical manual. Korn Ferry.

Korn Ferry (in press). Organizational

transformation research guide and technical
manual. Korn Ferry.

Laxson, E. N. (2018). Within and between

person effects of learning agility: A longitudinal
examination of how learning agility impacts future
career success. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved
from Mountain Scholar Digital Collections
of Colorado & Wyoming. https://hdl.handle.
net/10217/191318

Swisher, V., & Dai, G. (2014). The agile enterprise:

Taking stock of learning agility to gauge the fit of
the talent pool to the strategy. Korn Ferry.

10 Copyright © 2020 Korn Ferry. All rights reserved.

 Thought Leadership

About Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm. We
work with organizations to design their organizational
structures, roles, and responsibilities. We help them hire the
right people and advise them on how to reward, develop,
and motivate their workforce. And, we help professionals
navigate and advance their careers.

About the Korn Ferry Institute

The Korn Ferry Institute, our research and analytics arm,
was established to share intelligence and expert points
of view on talent and leadership. Through studies, books,
and a quarterly magazine, Briefings, we aim to increase
understanding of how strategic talent decisions contribute
to competitive advantage, growth, and success.

Copyright © 2020 Korn Ferry. All rights reserved. 11