This week, sports fans in the U.S. will be watching the much-anticipated National Football League draft.
During the three-day event, the league’s 32 teams make selections from the most talented college and international prospects to strengthen their rosters.
The hit-and-miss of this process is widely known and written about. Some teams are notoriously good at selecting prospects while others are atrociously bad at it.
The teams with the most success share a common framework that leaders of every stripe would be wise to incorporate into their talent assessment process.
Namely, who the players will be — several years from now.
Most teams select rookies to fill a perceived need at a specific position or skill set. As a result, they often overlook exceptional talent that doesn’t meet the current gap.
But the better teams understand that the best available players may play a position the team doesn’t covet right now. They know drafting is only the beginning.
Development is the critical element for any prospect to reach their full potential.
Expecting younger players to be the best version of themselves lacks an understanding of maturity, growth, and development. Even the best players need to be invested in and developed.
Highly talented players evolve quickly based on the coaching they receive. The idea in the NFL is to have players peak by Year 3.
The analogy for leaders in other fields is obvious. Good talent selectors ask a common question: With our investment in coaching and training, who could this person become in 3–5 years?
Potential doesn’t only reside in the prospective team member. It’s heavily influenced by the organization’s developmental processes. The combination of the two best predicts the long-term success of talent.
Organizations that ask, “What will they become?” instead of just “Who are they now?” tend to make better selections.
Of course, the prospect’s learning agility, motivation to grow and improve, and ability to perform in unfamiliar situations will give selectors a wider view of their future.
But it is the shift from current strength to capacity for future development that will increase the odds of finding and selecting the best talent.
Watch this week’s NFL draft to see this perspective in action by the wisest of teams.
The best players aren’t just strong now. They get stronger faster than others, thanks in part to the organization that invests in them.
