Chapter 4 Potential: The Forgotten Factor in Talent Management Research

Despite considerable development in our understanding of potential over the past two decades, we argue that the failure to adequately conceptualize and manage “potential” in the context of talent management has significantly limited the ability of organizations to meet their talent needs. In this chapter, we begin by defining the concept of potential, calling attention to the need to separate it from performance. We also address the need to specify the target for judgments of potential (e.g., management level, specific roles), along with the identification of constructs to measure. The chapter highlights two contextual variables – gender and culture, including translations of language that describe relevant constructs – that may impact judgments of potential. This chapter concludes by summarizing what we know and by identifying a variety of future directions for research on the important construct of potential.