ARE YOU A HIGH POTENTIAL?
Written by Dragan Nikolic on Dec. 6th 2020
High-potential waiters have distinguishing characteristics and behaviour that companies routinely recognize. Learn what those qualities are and what you can do to exhibit them – so that your name is on the list.
So you might be asking yourself, “How do I get - and stay - on my company´s high-potential list?
This article can help you begin to answer that question. Think of it as letter to the hundreds of smart, competent and hardworking waiters who are progressing trough their careers with some degree of satisfaction but are still wondering how to get where they really want to go.
The Autonomy of a High Potential
Lets begin with our definition of a high potential waiter. Your company may have different definition or might not even officially distinguish high potentials from other employees. However companies tend to think the top 3% to 5% of their talent in these terms:
“High potentials consistently and significantly outperform their colleagues in a variety of settings and circumstances. While achieving these superior levels of performance, they exhibit behaviours that reflect their companies’ culture and values in exemplary manner. Moreover, they show strong capacity to grow and succeed throughout their careers with in an organization – more quickly and effectively then their colleagues do.”
That's the basic anatomy of high potential. Gaining membership in these elite group starts with three essential elements.
Deliver strong results – credibly.
Making your numbers is important, but it isn’t enough. You will never get to high-potential list if you don't perform with distinction or if your results come at the expense of someone else. Competence is the baseline quality for high performance. But you also need to prove your credibility. That means building trust and confidence among your colleagues and, thereby, influencing a wide array of managers.
Mater new types of expertise.
Early in your waiter career, getting noticed is all about mastering the technical expertise that the job requires. As you progress, you need to broaden that expertise. You start as a bus-boy carrying heavy boxes and somehow always being dirty, and then you move to a waiter position that require you to exercise perfection and cleanliness despite having experience. At the certain point you will face a challenge of letting go your bad habits as much as the challenge of adding on. Don't aspire, for example, to be the best waiter and the best team leader at the same time.
Recognize that behaviour counts.
Although you performance gets you noticed and promoted early in your career, your behaviour is what keeps you on the radar as a high potential. Outstanding skills never really diminish in importance, but they become a given as you are expected to excel in roles with broader reach. Prospective candidates for that coveted high-potential label must demonstrate a behaviour shift from “fit and affiliation” to “role model and teacher”.
Processes for developing list for high potentials vary, but the rising stars who make the grade are remarkably similar to their core characteristics and behaviours. In a sense, they share a basic anatomy.
The constitution of a high potential includes for intangible factors:
• A drive to excel
• A catalytic learning capability
• An enterprising spirit
• Dynamic sensors that detect opportunities and obstacles
The best exemplars of the high-potential profile exhibit all four in spades.
Getting onto high-potential list is extremely desirable, but I can demand great sacrifice. And the consequences of falling off the rolls after having been given the honour can be substantial and permanent.
Remember!!
What companies look for is a waiter who can move from being an acknowledged value creator to being a game changer.
To your success,
Dragan
Dragan Nikolic
Dragan Nikolic helps people start and grow successful hospitality career. He is an expert at helping people grow their salary using unique methods and making things super simple to understand.
If you're interested in exploding your career by scaling up and growing your salary exponentially then definitely reach out and request a free strategy session today.
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VIP Waiter Academy is company that helps waiters grow their skills and their monthly salary. We make no claims or representation that by using Secret Waiter Hacks you will earn money or make your money back. This video presentation and the testimonials and are hereby used for educational and exemplary purposes only, they are not intended to incite sales. While they may show real experiences from paying users of VIP Waiter Academy, their results are not typical, and your career’s experience will vary based upon the effort and education of your work’s employee and management, the business model that is implemented, and market forces beyond anyone’s control.