How do you all differentiate between high vs. medium potential in employees, ensuring the criteria are comprehensible and actionable for team leaders?

We breakdown potential with (3) key variables; Aspirations (to take on more/grow), Ability (leverage any competencies for your department/team), and Engagement. This helps take an element of the subjectivity out of the scoring. We have clear definitions for each of these. Feel free to reach out if interested. 

Our organization uses competency based management approach. Competencies are very clearly defined and they are paired with a 5 point rating scale that we use to assess the competencies. Having very clear language that makes it easy to apply.

Differentiating between high-potential and medium-potential employees is essential for growth for the company and employees too.

The first thing we can do is develop a clear set of criteria that define what high-potential and medium-potential mean in your organization.

Performance metrics need to be involved while differentiating between high-potential and medium-potential employees.

Also evaluating the employee's ability to adapt to change, learning, innovation, and problem-solving capabilities.

Finally, develop a scoring or ranking system that quantifies these criteria.