High Potential Leadership Program

This High Potential Leadership Program trains high performers in leadership skills, so they can establish a strong foundation to prepare for leadership roles. It helps organisations across industries nurture internal talent and create a sustainable pipeline of future leaders. This development program helps high potential employees establish a leadership mindset, self-awareness, and skills in leading teams.

Working with organisations across Australia, we know that leaders face unique challenges. Here are a few of them:

1. Lack of development opportunities: Top talent are seeking opportunities where professional development is prioritised and valued. Organisations have a significant competitive advantage and a more compelling EVP for attraction, retention and engagement if their people have ongoing access to rich learning experiences.
2. Rise of ‘human skills’: More and more, organisations are helping leaders develop both technical skills and soft skills. Employees with development plans that focus on soft skills are better prepared for leadership positions, as they cultivate self-awareness and interpersonal skills. This helps them become more aware and capable to work collaboratively with others.
3. Complex world of work: Living in a ‘VUCA’ (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment means employees need to be able to cope with a changing business environment that presents constant challenges. Covid recovery, economic instability and hybrid working call for more flexible, adaptable skill sets.
4. Promotion of unprepared talent: Often high performers become managers without the necessary training to prepare them for leadership roles. This places stress on new leaders, the teams they lead, and can compromise business outcomes. By nurturing high performers in their current roles, it means rising stars have exactly what they need to succeed in the next phase of their careers.

Overall, these challenges present a strong case for talent development and investing in high potential employees, so there is sustainable approach to talent management.

With the help of this program, high potential employees will explore new skills and enhance their capability in areas such as:

1. Self-awareness: This involves the ability to recognise and regulate one’s own emotions and maintain healthy relationships with others. Employees can improve their self-awareness by engaging in self-reflection, by listening to and taking on feedback, and by developing empathy for those around them. 
2. Listening: Employees who listen and respond in respectful ways to what people need, build long-lasting connections. This has a positive effect on others and helps to establish trust. Employees who seek to understand other people and appreciate their differences, are better able to maintain healthy work relationships. 
3. Collaboration: Employees who appreciate different communication styles can initiate collaboration with greater ease. Employees with emotional intelligence and well-developed communication skills know their audience, and actively include all people in conversations and decision-making. 
4. Empathy: Finding ways to relate to other people’s experiences and the emotions they are feeling, gives employees a better insight into others. When this happens, there is greater cooperation between colleagues to solve business challenges and achieve outcomes. 
5. Decision making: Employees make well-considered decisions with confidence when they’re prepared and see all points of view. High potential employees can build this capability by challenging old views and biases, researching, and by actively considering each person’s perspective.

By developing potential talent to prepare for leadership roles internally, organisations benefit from greater options for talent acquisition and succession planning.

What is a High Potential Leadership Program?

Our High Potential Leadership Program is a professional development course specifically designed to support high performers build leadership skills. It aims to provide participants with the skills, tools and resources necessary to step into leadership roles with confidence. Our specialist facilitators have worked with leaders across Australia and offer meaningful advice, practical strategies, and case studies to learn from.

Why should my organisation offer a High Potential Leadership Program?

Being part of a High Potential Leadership Training Program can help high performing employees develop skills, access mentoring and build partnerships across a supportive community of peers. It can also help participants to support each other to build skills through simulations, role plays and stretch assignments. The networking opportunities are crucial to supporting the group of high potential employees to help each other.

Who can attend a High Potential Leadership Program?

This training program is designed for high potential employees. We help participants build competencies in fundamental leadership skills, as well as giving them opportunities to develop their unique leadership style. An organisation might also involve senior leaders in mentorship roles, to support the development of high potential employees and succession planning.

Are High Potential Leadership Programs only available in person?

Our High Potential Program can be delivered face-to-face or as online learning – depending on the organisation’s set-up. It is typically made up of a series of workshops with case studies and tools to support high potential development – so participants can apply skills to their roles straight away. Often these are complemented by coaching sessions with a Thinka coach. Coaching plays an important role in challenging old behaviours and supporting leadership development in each of the participants. Organisations might also opt for a blended program that makes use of eLearning modules and other forms of media.