“You have a hunch this team member has potential,” I told Maryanne. “What did you see, what did you observe that gave you the hunch?”

Maryanne was not convinced about her hunch. “This team member always seems to finish her work on time. It rarely contains errors. Occasionally, I will see her toying with other ways to accomplish the work, shortcuts that save time, but don’t impact quality or quality improvements that don’t take extra time. Whenever there is an extra project, she always volunteers. She is helpful to other people she works with, coordinates her work handoffs so they are seamless.”

“When you think about her effectiveness in the role, would you say she works as well as someone in the top half of the role or the bottom half of the role?” I asked.

“Definitely the top half,” Maryanne replied.

“And in that half, would you say the top, middle or bottom?”

“Top of the top,” she confirmed.

“Then, how are you going to test her potential?”

Outbound Air, Levels of Work in Organizational Structure, by Tom Foster, is now available for Kindle, soon to be released in softcover.