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High Potential: How to Spot, Manage and Develop Talented People at Work

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Nurturing future talent – choosing the right people, developing the good into the best and keeping hold of the brightest – is essential for business.

This research-led yet accessible book offers a practical guide

Clearly understanding and defining potential
High flying personality traits to look out for and biographical markers of potential
Selecting positive high potential traits and weeding out negative traits like manipulation, superficial charm or narcissism
The best assessment methods for measuring potential
Developing high potential employees
Understanding why people choose to leave or stay at a company
Looking at potential in context; what it means to small vs large businesses, the public and private sector.

In exploring all of these facets, this book provides a practical framework for embedding potential, showing managers how to create a strong strategic vision for a high performing, high potential workforce; a real competitive business advantage.

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 31, 1899

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About the author

Ian MacRae

13 books2 followers

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
1 review2 followers
November 27, 2020
My high hopes for this book were dashed. I am a trustee of an organisation that has recently employed someone and I wanted to get some expert advice on How the Experts Do It. This book is more discursive and short on practical advice. There is a lot of emphasis on intelligence and personality testing (which a glance at the author bios will explain). Also a full 40 pages on the 'dark side/derailment' which was a blind alley for me since our employee is not (yet) exhibiting derailment tendencies. Overall it feels all over the place, perhaps a reflection of the three authors' different subject areas.
Apart from the loose structure, the book is badly produced with howlers such as Noam Chompsky, Marquis Du Sade and Geofferey Howe, not to mention malapropisms ("Sindona severed on company boards") and sloppy copy editing ("This type of role is not about the coach listening, it's about speak.").
I struggled my way through the extensive platitudes and found my way to my favourite piece of advice, "Have lunch with the candidate and they'll open up".
Profile Image for Isabel.
19 reviews
September 7, 2025
Si se busca un libro práctico para detectar y gestionar talento de alto potencial, este no lo es. Aunque ofrece una base teórica sólida, el contenido se dispersa en psicología general, alejándose del enfoque prometido por el título.

Más que una guía útil para líderes y gestores, es un tratado de psicología de la personalidad, con poca aplicabilidad práctica y sin herramientas claras para la gestión real del talento. Apenas un 5% del libro trata de talento de alto potencial.
Profile Image for Brandon Langlois.
1 review
April 23, 2019
A well researched and insightful look into identifying and developing high potential people. I appreciated the blend of scientific analysis and pragmatic advice the book presents.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

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