High Potential

Intermediate 👥 Human Resources

Definition

An employee identified as having the capability and commitment to advance into senior leadership roles. Also known as 'the person who gets better assignments and more mentoring than everyone else.'

Example Usage

She's been identified as high potential, so she's enrolled in the executive development program.

Origin

HR classification that became prominent in the 1980s

Fun Fact

High potential identification often has unconscious bias; studies show it favors those similar to current leaders.

Source: Talent Development and Leadership Standards

Related Terms

Beginner

terminated

The HR euphemism for firing someone that sounds vaguely threatening, like something Arnold Schwarzenegger would say before shooting a robot. Companies use this word because apparently 'fired' sounds too honest and 'let go' makes it sound like you're releasing a butterfly into the wild. When your employment is terminated, you're technically ended, ceased, and discontinued—which is exactly how your career feels in that moment.

👥 Human Resources
Advanced

salary compression

When there's little difference between the pay of new hires and experienced employees, or between different job levels. The phenomenon that makes loyal employees realize they should have job-hopped years ago.

👥 Human Resources
Beginner

staffing

The perpetual HR challenge of finding, hiring, and occasionally yeeting employees to keep a business running smoothly. It encompasses everything from recruitment strategies to headcount planning, basically ensuring you have enough humans doing the right jobs at the right time. When companies say they have "staffing issues," it means they're either drowning in applications or desperately clinging to whoever shows up.

👥 Human Resources
Intermediate

ERG (Employee Resource Group)

An affinity group for employees sharing demographics or interests, which provides community while corporations get free diversity initiatives without actually changing anything.

👥 Human Resources
Intermediate

cohesion

The state of sticking together or working as one unit—what HR desperately hopes team-building exercises will achieve.

👥 Human Resources
Advanced

employee value proposition

The unique set of benefits and experiences an employer offers in return for the skills and experience an employee brings. It's a marketing pitch, but for jobs instead of products.

👥 Human Resources

Translate This Term

See “High Potential” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on XShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

PITI (Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance)

The four components of a monthly mortgage payment. It's the financial encapsulation of homeownership—the most boring a...