The Book “Talent Master” Chapter 5 Introduction: Digital Potential

People are always the most invaluable asset the business should invest in, but most organizations still use static mechanisms to measure talent performance mainly based on quantitative delivery, with ignorance of qualitative perspective, talent potential assessment, intangible culture impact, or lack of overall holistic talent management and tailored performance management of lifting up the next level of people management maturity. For example, how to differentiate potential from performance, how to unleash the collective human potential to innovate your business and advance our society?
Performance vs. Potential: Performance is well done of current assignments and demonstrated the capacity of doing good work with the quantitative result. However, do not assume though that top performer is the top talent for the future. The high performer may be at the top of their game at the moment, but the question is how well will they adapt to changes, be learning agile to enhance their innate capability. This is where the potential comes into play. Potential is about future performance, not past performance. How well does an individual continue to grow, how likely can they take on new challenges at work, rapidly learn and grow into next-level roles, or roles that are expanded and redefined as the business changes? The one thing to differentiate talented people, either high performance or high potential from mediocrity is MINDSET, which further drives attitude. The worst mediocrity is not the mediocre result, but a mediocre attitude, which often brings negative, professionalism, or lower team morality. Unfortunately, in some organizations, mediocrity get encouraged or even rewarded, and ultimately drag the whole business down to irrelevant.
Strengthen your strength: Every person is unique and we all have our own strength and weakness. Knowing who you are or being self-awareness, allows you to become a higher quality digital professional. Be self-aware, be able to see our strengths and weaknesses without self-judgment is possible and healthy. Knowing who you are and how you react and respond in a different situation can help you understand and improve cognitive, relational and assertive actions you take on a day to day basis, understanding your strength also helps you to unleash your full potential and better manage your professional life in the long run. From digital talent management lenses, social analysis helps pinpoint to who knows what within within or even beyond your organization based on social influence and thought leadership, it allows organizations to identify the strength of talented people, and enable forward-looking organizations to build the alternative digital talent pipeline and put the right people in the right positions.
Motivational potential: Motivation is having a passion or drive for achievement and continuous improvement. Motivation is moving forward, taking action. Motivation requires giving someone a “motive,” usually self-interest along the lines. Assessing a person’s motivational potential is how well he or she can adapt personal drive and focus on performing well in new and changing context (self-motivation). Being motivated has both push and pull factors. You are motivated to move away from something because it’s painful and also moves towards something which is inspiring. So inspiration is the “pull” factor in the continuum of motivation. Motivation is on the ground and immediate level, it can be either a carrot or the stick. But the only one who can motivate you is YOU. You have to have the desire and be willing to challenge yourself to be all you can be. Motivation is to drive action for winning, but better with a purpose.
From people management perspective, how to unleash the abundance of human potential is perhaps one of the best rewarding fields for the human society advancement, but is is the arena still full of myth. Tapping the unlimited human potential is both art and science, it takes out of box thinking and trans-disciplinary approach. Follow us at: @Pearl_Zhu