Co-Developing the High Potential in an Organization

Addressing the HiPo in the Room

The first thing people typically think of when they hear or read “HiPo” is a bumbling aquatic-loving mammal with a huge mouth responsible for an estimated 500 deaths annually. But with a quick clarification, they understand that HiPo is short for “high potential” and breathe a sigh of relief. Most coaches and coachees are familiar with one-on-one coaching: it’s structure, confidentiality, intimacy, and focus on the individual. 

HiPo coaching is a fascinating evolution of one-on-one coaching that maintains confidentiality, intimacy, and a focus on the individual, but the structure, accountability, and purpose are far more focused and collaborative. If a manager considers one of their direct reports as someone with high potential – operating efficiently with the capability and yearning to grow but lacking in some important areas for improvement – then those two individuals could become key functions of a HiPo triad.

Prodding the HiPo

The first step is to do some homework about the organization. The nuance of who a HiPo may be can make all the difference. For example, at the organization I work for, a survey I conducted revealed that the characteristics of people who were most likely to succeed in our culture embodied compassion/empathy, drive, collaboration, willingness to expand knowledge, flexibility, and servant leadership. This translated into looking for people who either are or have the potential to be thinking collaborators, effective communicators, curious and open-minded listeners, reliable partners, and creators of psychological safety. The purpose of this profile is to help managers more clearly identify who they think could have high potential.

The next step is essential, and that is for the manager to have a one-on-one conversation with his or her direct report about this opportunity. HiPo coaching, like all coaching, must be voluntary. Otherwise, it can feel punitive and remedial, resulting in unproductive connotations around coaching, which could harm the effectiveness of the process throughout the organization. The manager’s conversation with his or her direct report should be about the direct report’s strengths, his or her areas for growth as identified by the manager, genuine curiosity around the direct report’s perspective on their performance and what their goals may be, and – ultimately – an invitation to engage in HiPo coaching to improve and work toward those goals.

The areas where HiPo coaching can be most effective include, but are not limited to, confidence building, effective communication, building and/or maintaining trusting relationships, delegation, time management and organization, accountability, and setting up healthy boundaries. This isn’t an opportunity for someone to learn how to use Excel spreadsheets or perform a procedure on a patient. The technical aspects of development are still the responsibility of the manager. HiPo coaching focuses on emotional intelligence, disrupting unconscious thinking patterns, and shifting perspectives.

The Structure of HiPo Coaching

Once the manager and direct report agree that they’re interested in pursuing HiPo coaching, they and the coach meet for a triadic co-creation of the process. To help, I’ve created an outline, which includes basic information, but most of the time is spent in the categories of “Goal and Description” and “Metric(s)”. 

Both the manager and the direct report co-create goals for the coaching process. These are topics such as those listed above. I often ask them to define with more clarity the goal so we are all on the same page as to what “time management” is in reference to or for whom the “accountability” should be directed toward. 

Once the goals have been co-created, clarified, and agreed to, the manager and direct report come up with metrics for how we will measure progress toward these goals. Some of the metrics are quantitative, such as a particular number of tasks being completed within a timeframe, but often the metrics are more qualitative in nature. I ask them simply, “if _____ was achieving his or her goals, how would we know? What would be noticeable?” Sometimes it’s worth playing devil’s advocate and pushing them a little to either ensure that the metric is truly within the direct report’s control or that the metric couldn’t potentially be the result of other influences that could affect its accuracy.

Once the goals and metrics have been clearly identified and agreed to, we move the discussion forward to achieve even more clarity and alignment. The coach asks the two participants what success looks like. They should imagine and describe what the designed future they’re trying to live in looks like, so they have a motivating target they’re heading toward. Then the coach asks if either of them sees any potential obstacles to achieving these goals. The direct report may say, “micromanaging” or “the manager undermining me.” The manager may say, “lack of focus.” It’s vital that there is psychological safety for both participants to be honest and transparent here without judgment. Then, based on the potential obstacles, they come up with potential solutions to avoid or overcome them. It’s always helpful to be proactive and get ahead of these hypothetical issues so we all enter into this process with both eyes wide open and an alignment around the process and the goals we’re working toward. 

The final question the coach asks them is for each person to explain why this HiPo coaching is important to them. This hammers in the final nail: engaging the participants and achieving a fuller sense of buy-in. It creates an environment of support while allowing for a difference of opinions. Everyone knows where they and each other stand. This transparency is a great place to leave things before figuring out the logistics of start dates and frequency of sessions. Everything discussed here is recorded in that shared file, so it can be referenced to provide clarity as well as accountability.

One-on-One, as a Triad

When it comes to the actual coaching sessions, the coach explains 1) what the purposes of those meetings are, as well as 2) the continued roles of the triadic members. Typically, the coach and coachee – the direct report – meet every week or every other week. These sessions are confidential. The coach takes his or her own private notes during the session. However, with the coachee present and engaged, the shared file begins to get filled in with tracking which goal was worked on, what were the 30,000-foot-view takeaways, and what was the homework for the coachee. Without violating any confidentiality, key takeaways are added so that the coachee and the manager can track and view what’s happening. The homework is whatever the coachee decides to act on between sessions based on the coaching that took place. All of this is updated as the process progresses. It effectively creates transparency and accountability while maintaining confidentiality and allows for the triad to remain engaged in a timely manner.

With the triad still present, it’s explained that the coach will meet with the manager usually once a month. Sometimes, this can give the coachee pause, but in the transparent conversation, the purpose of those meetings is made clear: the coach and manager meet so that the coach can receive feedback from the manager’s perspective, which is helpful in aspects of accountability, potential need for goal refining (which would be triadic), and validity of metrics. It also allows the coach to coach the manager on their management of the direct report. Again, without violating confidentiality, the coach can provide feedback to and encourage curiosity with the manager that may help in their relationship with their direct report. 

By the end, when all three parties feel that the coaching has achieved its goals based on the metrics or if the coaching isn’t working to the satisfaction of the triad, all three meet again to either conclude the process and co-create next steps or co-create next steps if progress is unsatisfactory. This may include a revision of the goals and/or metrics or perhaps the termination of the coaching altogether. Throughout the process, there will be inquiries, insights, and breakthroughs that may result in the direct report realizing what they initially wanted wasn’t what they really yearned for. Everyone must be open to the fluidity of the process and the discoveries that coaching can facilitate.

Initial Reactions

Having coached individuals at every level, one-on-one, for over a year at this organization, I was shocked at the overwhelming interest when I presented HiPo coaching to the company. Typically, I would be coaching half a dozen people at any given time – not including impromptu sessions based on very niche contexts. However, there were managers having excited discussions with direct reports about this possibility, most of whom were interested and some who were not. Some managers were asking me if they could be coached with their C-suite-level executive as the manager, to which the answer was “yes.” There were plenty of people interested in being coached, asking me if they could request of their managers that they engage in the process, to which the answer was “of course.” 

With over a dozen triads formed within a week, I had to slow things down a bit and ensure my bandwidth wasn’t getting stretched too thin with my other organizational culture responsibilities. The factors that catalyzed the HiPo coaching into such a demand that one-on-one coaching hadn’t were 1) the highly focused nature of the coaching on specific goals and metrics, 2) the transparent yet confidential tracking and accountability of this process, and 3) the way it was co-created with the direct report and manager that manifested an environment of support toward an achievable and desired future. The energy was transformative.

Creating Your Own HiPo Program

In addition to the advice and outline provided above, below is also an attached template of the shared file used to create and track the HiPo coaching process, which can be amended and revised to meet the needs of the triad and organization. 

When it comes to the effectiveness of HiPo coaching, it all stems from the foundational belief in coaching that people are amazing, capable, and have the answers within to achieve their goals. That not only has to be communicated effectively throughout the organization, but also genuinely felt. If people are already familiar with coaching, as they were in mine, the groundwork will have already been laid out. However, even without that background, the program may start off slower but will build as managers and direct reports experience the benefits of HiPo coaching and word spreads organically throughout the company.

Don’t limit yourselves to arbitrary or aspirational timeframes. Instead, provide estimated time frames with the understanding that the process may be shorter, longer, or goals may change or be added. Don’t require HiPo coaching for employees who are struggling. If people believe that HiPo coaching is a veiled Trojan horse for remediation or punishment, its effectiveness is irrevocably lost. Instead, emphasize the voluntary nature of it and encourage those initial conversations between the manager and direct report as a first step. And don’t bear the crushing weight of achieving the goals solely on your shoulders. Remember that whether the coachee achieves his or her goals is determined by the coachee. Your role is to coach, to provoke inquiry into the unexplored unconscious narratives, to share observations for the coachee to consider and reflect on, to create a safe space for the coachee’s journey to wherever they bushwhack their path to, and to maintain an environment of accountability – not to the company or to the manager – but to the open-ended process that is exploring one’s previously untapped potential to ensure that where they go is where they’re meant to be. 

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