No matter what the size of an organisation, employers are always looking for that special brand of person who has both the capabilities and desire to step up into a leadership role. Without people willing to do that, things stay as they are which limits overall company growth and potential.
But of course, how do you find the right person that can either be hired externally or ideally, promoted from within?
Being realistic though, not everyone is interested in or is suitable for leadership. I know that sounds somewhat negative, but I prefer the word practical as it comes from my experience of over 20 years as a business and performance coach.
The content of this article is drawn from my own experience in this area supplemented by reading, academic research and case studies undertaken over many years.
How to identify potential emerging leaders?
I think at one level the answer to this lies in the answer to the question that I have received most over the years from business owners.
That has been, ‘Steve, how can I get my people to think and act as I do’? Therefore, the answer is who within the team has the potential to think like a business owner or leader, in a way suited to the organisation’s vision, culture, values and performance needs?
The six qualifying criteria that I have found to be most important are.
- Desire and intent to be a leader and the increased responsibilities that entails.
- Passionately share the company vision, purpose, culture, and values.
- Their own personal ethos and values mirror that of the company and its leadership.
- Good levels of IQ and mastery over their core current role tasks.
- Has well-developed interpersonal and EQ skills with the potential to learn and grow.
- Finally something less tangible but a good feeling. They just have something special about them. They have a spark that’s ready to be ignited in such a way that will benefit the business in positive ways that can’t be initially articulated and quantified. It is however a good gut feeling.
What natural traits do they have?
Here are my top seven suggestions also drawn from a combination of research and practical knowledge.
- They naturally attract willing followers, confidently build trust and influence decision-making.
- They have the power to galvanize and unite ideas, individuals, and teams.
- The strong inner core of character, values, principles, and pursuit of excellence.
- Resolute with the implementation of the strategy. Not easily fazed or swayed by temporary setbacks.
- Are forward thinkers, and can see beyond the present to the possibilities.
- Superior skills of judgment, discernment, intelligence, and wisdom.
- Self-motivated and creative thinkers with a passion for continuous learning.
That might seem like quite a daunting list for would be leaders to naturally have. Given that list of criteria, one might think that such potential candidates would rarely be found. The reality is that you are looking for people that have some of these attributes and the potential for them to be developed and enhanced over time.
Five tips on how to best implement and cultivate a leadership transition plan.
- Create a leadership transition plan incorporating results from an appropriate leadership diagnostic feedback survey or tool. This will help identify any significant development gaps.
- In conjunction with the above develop a personalized leadership development plan.
- Throw that person in at the deep end at an early stage. That could include activities like.
- Allowing them to chair and run certain meetings.
- Allowing them to build and run a project team.
- Throw them a difficult challenge and road-test their logic, reasoning, and results.
- Co- participate in team appraisals and coaching conversations.
- Co- participate in conflict resolution discussions.
- Co-participate in strategic planning sessions.
- Deputize with authority when current leaders are on leave.
- Mentor and coach them along the journey. Incorporate reflective learning as a key principle and tool.
- Continue to train in advanced EQ and coaching skills.
Final thoughts
There is much consensus and debate around whether leaders are born or made; the old ‘nature versus nurture’ argument. Proponents of both sides can build good cases for each other’s views. Personally, I’m in the corner that suggests there is some genetics at play but how much it matters and why is still in the realm of interesting conversation.
However, that does not mean that every single person can’t acquire the attributes of leadership without being the actual leader themselves. That’s the really good news and we see it in businesses every day.
Many leadership attributes are learned skills and that’s a great goal to have throughout any organization. With the right leaders in place, they can instil and drive the attributes that support a culture of continuous leadership improvement.
