The document discusses a framework called the High-Potential Experience Cycle for identifying and developing high-potential leaders. It presents the cycle which consists of 5 steps that must be addressed from both the organization's perspective and the leader's perspective: 1) planning for the future, 2) identifying high potentials, 3) developing and preparing for future roles, 4) transitioning into new roles, and 5) managing the broader context. The cycle is meant to ensure alignment between the organization's needs and the leader's needs in order to maximize engagement, retention and the development of leadership talent.

1. AT A GLANCE SERIES
High-Potential Experience Cycle™
Reframe Your Organization’s High-Potential Program for Optimal Impact
An Introduction
Today, more than ever, organizations must focus resources where they will provide the greatest benefit. Nowhere
is this more true than in identifying and developing high-potential leaders.i These leaders, who have the potential
to advance into significantly higher level roles or take on more challenging assignments, are critical to an
organization’s long-term success.
Accurately identifying and developing high-potential leaders yields striking benefits:
•• Greater bench strength for key positions
•• Smoother transitions and shorter learning curves as leaders get up-to-speed more quickly
•• Reduced risk of derailment
•• Enhanced retention of key leaders, lowering recruitment costs
•• Agility in pivotal talent pools
•• Consistently high performance from a steady supply of superior leadership talent
Although 67 percent of companies take steps to identify high-potential leaders, only 15 percent are satisfied with
their procedures.ii It’s easy to understand why. Current methods of identifying high potentials are fraught with
subjectivity and bias. Leaders not identified as high potentials might disengage. Those labeled high potential may
feel entitled to better treatment. Companies might nurture high potentials for years, only to watch them leave for
new opportunities elsewhere.
Still, it is possible to achieve high performance from your high potentials—and do it faster—by focusing on
practices that really make a difference.
Copyright © 2010, Personnel Decisions International Corporation, d.b.a. PDI Ninth House. All Rights Reserved. 1

2. High-Potential Experience Cycle™ AT A GLANCE SERIES
See the Whole Picture Through the High-Potential
Experience Cycle™
Given the importance of cultivating your organization’s key leadership talent, it’s essential that you step back
and look at the whole picture. Does your organization’s process and design address the organization’s current
and future needs, encompass the whole person, and address the full experience cycle of high potentials as they
move through the leadership pipeline?
Likely, you have witnessed situations in which an organization focuses solely on its objectives. High-potential
leaders go through the motions, react with skepticism and/or cynicism, and achieve superficial results. On the
other hand, organizations create a win/win when they align their objectives with leaders’ needs and goals. When
they understand and incorporate the needs of both the organization and high-potential leaders into the design,
it magnifies the value of the entire program, ensuring engagement, enhancing retention, and accelerating the
supply of talented leaders who are ready to step into new roles when needed.
The High Potential Experience Cycle™ shows how to address needs of both the organization and high-potential
leaders in a parallel process. As the organization goes through the process of identifying, developing, and
deploying high-potential talent, leaders simultaneously plan and manage their own lives and careers.
Organization’s High-Potential
Process Leader’s Experience
1. Forecast talent needs 1. Assess and plan for
and requirements the future
1 P lan
2. Accurately identify and 2. Commit and engage
engage high potentials 2 Identify
3. Accelerate Organizational High-Potential 3. Develop and learn
3 Develop
development for High Potential
Process
Leader’s
Experience
high potentials
3 T rans ition
4. Manage transitions 4. Transition and perform
into new roles in new role
5 Manage
5. Address governance, 5. Manage work- and
communication, and non-work priorities
evaluation
2 Copyright © 2010, Personnel Decisions International Corporation, d.b.a. PDI Ninth House. All Rights Reserved.

3. High-Potential Experience Cycle™ AT A GLANCE SERIES
Looking at the two perspectives in tandem, we see that each side comprises five key steps.
The organization’s talent process for high potentials includes:
1. Forecast talent needs and requirements
2. Accurately identify and engage high potentials
3. Accelerate development
4. Manage transitions into new roles
5. Address governance, communication, and evaluation
The high-potential leaders’ process involves:
1. Assess and plan for the future
2. Commit and engage as a high potential
3. Develop and learn
4. Transition and perform in new role
5. Manage work and non-work priorities
Let’s dig deeper into each section of the cycle.
1. Plan for the Future
FOR T H E O R G A N I Z AT I O N FOR THE LEADER
FORECAST TALENT N E E D S A N D R E QU I R E M E N T S AS S E S S A N D P L A N F O R T H E F U T U R E
1. Identify leadership roles and positions to be targeted 1. Clarify goals, values, and where you want to go
•• C-suite, top 3%, pivotal roles, difficult to fill positions, •• What is most important and meaningful to you at work?
etc.
•• What kind of organization (culture, environment, values,
•• Consider current, near-term, and long-term strategic mission) do you want to work for?
needs •• What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
•• Where will you need more, better, or different leaders? •• What matters to you outside of work? What are the
2. Define purpose, priorities, challenges, needs, and implications for your career?
requirements for each role 2. Assess capabilities and development needs
•• What kind of leaders do you need to fill those •• What are your key strengths and how can you best deploy
positions? them?
•• What kind of challenges will they face? •• What are your key weaknesses and how can you mitigate
•• What do they need to do? them?
3. Define time frames: When do you need them? 3. Assess career options and opportunities
4. Consider the supply: Hire or develop? •• Where can you find or create the best opportunities to
achieve your goals?
•• What do you need to do to be successful in this
organization?
Copyright © 2010, Personnel Decisions International Corporation, d.b.a. PDI Ninth House. All Rights Reserved. 3

4. High-Potential Experience Cycle™ AT A GLANCE SERIES
2. Identify High Potentials
FOR T H E O R G A N I Z AT I O N FOR THE LEADER
ACCURATELY IDENT I F Y A N D E N GAG E C O M M I T A N D E N GAG E AS A H I G H P OT E N T I A L
HIGH POTENTIALS
1. Understand what it means
1. Define required attributes of high-potential leaders
•• Organizational commitment and expectations
•• Review relevant research
•• Potential benefits
•• Define terminology: potential, performance, readiness, fit
•• Personal time and energy required
•• Specify high-potential criteria and attributes
2. Evaluate priorities
•• for your organization
•• Assess benefits relative to your personal and career goals
•• for specific roles and positions
3. Commit to invest time and energy
2. Identify high-potential candidates
4. Maintain humility and perspective
•• Structured talent reviews
•• Nominate, screen, and assess
3. Inform and engage
•• Clarify communication strategy and steps
•• Discuss mutual expectations, commitments, and benefits
4. Align with HR systems (e.g., succession, selection/
promotion)
3. Develop and Prepare for Future Roles
FOR T H E O R G A N I Z AT I O N FOR THE LEADER
ACCELERATE DEVE LO P M E N T D E V E LO P A N D L E A R N
1. Drive individual development 1. Prepare development plans
•• Clarify development goals and objectives with individual •• Tactical plan to build capabilities for current/near-term
leaders performance
•• Craft short-term and long-term development plans •• Long-term/career plan (e.g., desired assignments and
•• Monitor and provide regular feedback on progress experiences over time) to prepare for future leadership
roles
•• Clarify changing needs and expectations
2. Learn strategies and skills for self-directed development
•• Review and update development plans
•• Hold leaders and their managers accountable for progress 3. Adopt attitude of learning
•• Cultivate curiosity; avoid arrogance and defensiveness
2. Drive systemic development processes
•• Take risks and stretch yourself
•• Design development programs and experiences tailored to
strategic needs and to leaders’ goals, values, and 4. Engage in development activities and on-the-job learning
development needs 5. Monitor and measure progress
•• Orchestrate short-term and long-term development •• Address barriers
activities
•• Revise and update plans
•• tactical development programs, projects, and tasks
•• job assignments, rotations, and key experiences
3. Reinforce a learning culture
•• Equip everyone to be self-directed learners
•• Support, recognize, and reward leaders who develop and
share talent
•• Support and protect leaders who experiment, take risks,
and accept stretch assignments
4 Copyright © 2010, Personnel Decisions International Corporation, d.b.a. PDI Ninth House. All Rights Reserved.

5. High-Potential Experience Cycle™ AT A GLANCE SERIES
4. Transition into New Roles
FOR T H E O R G A N I Z AT I O N FOR THE LEADER
MANAGE TRANSITIO N S I N TO N E W RO L E S T RA N S I T I O N A N D P E R F O R M I N N E W RO L E
1. Assess readiness and fit for relevant roles 1. Evaluate offer and decide whether to accept position
•• Utilize available information from succession processes, 2. Clarify expectations, priorities, and objectives for the role
high-potential programs, development plans and progress •• What are you supposed to achieve and contribute?
•• Gather other pertinent information •• What are you supposed to learn?
2. Select based on fit and opportunity for continued 3. Manage your Five Agendas as a Leader
development
•• Business agenda
•• Ensure the organization and hiring managers know which
•• learn the business and key metrics
talent is available
•• develop strategic and tactical action plans
•• Ensure high potentials know which roles and positions are
available •• Leadership agenda
3. Support transitions •• eview and refresh your leadership values and principles
r
•• Convey clear expectations for balancing performance and •• communicate and live your values as a leader
development •• Learning agenda
•• Provide transition coaching and support •• reset assumptions
4. Reset expectations for the leader •• une into what you need to learn and unlearn to perform in
t
•• Acknowledge the risks in making this move the new role
•• Allow time and space for learning and for adjustment to •• Relationship agenda
new role •• engage and align team
•• Discuss their status as a high potential going forward •• build relationships with key stakeholders
5. Maintain focus on engaging and meeting the broader needs •• Personal agenda
of the leader
•• clarify overall priorities and maintain equilibrium
•• everage your strengths and resilience during the transition
l
5. Manage the Broader Context
FOR T H E O R G A N I Z AT I O N FOR THE LEADER
ADDRESS GOVERNA N C E , C O M M U N I CAT I O N , M A N AG E WO R K A N D N O N - WO R K P R I O R I T I E S
AND EVALUATION
1. Develop an authentic, holistic vision for yourself and your life
1. Set up high-potential management system and programs
•• Clarify what really matters to you: personal and life goals and
•• Allocate adequate resources and leadership values
•• Align with other systems and processes •• Figure out where work and career fit in your life
2. Clarify governance policies and practices 2. Make appropriate choices to integrate work and non-work
•• Transparency and communication priorities
•• Talent stewardship •• Family
•• Transitions across boundaries •• Health and fitness
3. Create and implement a communication plan •• Financial
4. Ensure management support and alignment •• Community and social life
•• Senior execs: teach, mentor, recognize, reward, role model •• Recreation and leisure
•• Managers: support, develop, and share talent •• Spiritual
5. Define employee brand and value proposition and how they
apply to high-potential leaders
6. Evaluate impact and effectiveness
Copyright © 2010, Personnel Decisions International Corporation, d.b.a. PDI Ninth House. All Rights Reserved. 5

6. High-Potential Experience Cycle™ AT A GLANCE SERIES
People Decisions Drive Organizational Performance
Peter Drucker claimed “Of all the decisions an executive makes, none is as important as the decisions about people,
because they determine the performance capacity of the organization.” Decisions about high-potential leaders
are among the most important of all those decisions, because they are key investments in the organization’s
future.
Old ways of looking at high-potential talent simply do not work well. Organizations need a new way to think
about potential and more effective ways to identify and develop potential to ensure that it turns into high
performance. And they need to do all of this faster.
Reviewing the entire process to ensure alignment from start to finish is essential. But the real power is achieved
only when you build the process to meet organizational needs and the needs of the high-potential leaders.
Engagement and retention are not issues that you deal with after you invest in your top talent. They are the
natural result of how you interact with people at every step.
Hagemann, B., Chartrand, J. (2010). 2009/2010 Trends in Executive Development: A Benchmark Report. Oklahoma City, OK: Executive
i
Development Associates.
ii
Conference Board. (2005). US/KnowledgeCenter/ArticlesReports/ArticleDetail.aspx?cid=1735tid=0.
6 Copyright © 2010, Personnel Decisions International Corporation, d.b.a. PDI Ninth House. All Rights Reserved.