How can you assess the leadership potential of your employees?

You’ll notice that none of these four dimensions is exclusive to management roles. Any individual in the organization can develop and leverage these dimensions to help their team and the broader organization to improve its performance. Organizations that limit their leadership development perspective solely to those advancing into management roles miss out on so much potential.

Self awareness and emotional intelligence are the top leadership skills, however they can be learned. The biggest aspect is how they pursue growth, how they use mentors/coaches/managers/colleagues to get feedback and input so they can improve and who they want to become as a person. My 2 favorite questions to ask are: "who are you?" and "what legacy/impact do you want to have on the world?"

When it comes to figuring out who has leadership potential on my team, I go beyond just looking at current performance. I focus on a few key areas. One is how well they deal with complex situations and make decisions. Another is their emotional intelligence. It's important they can manage emotions, both their own and others. I also pay attention to initiative. If someone is proactive and goes the extra mile, that's a good sign. And while skills are important, the ability to adapt and learn matters more to me. Once I identify these traits, I put that person on a development plan. This might involve training, mentorship, or giving them new challenges. It helps set both the individual and the team up for long-term success.

A few years ago, I collaborated with a multinational company where Maya, a young employee, stood out. Her adept mapping of objectives, quick tool mastery, introspective discussions, and intuitive team insights epitomized the four key dimensions of leadership. At the end of the project, during a review meeting, when asked for feedback on the team, I highlighted Maya's contributions, emphasizing how she encapsulated the four dimensions of leadership potential. The story of Maya is a testament to the fact that leadership potential can often be found in unexpected places.

Absolutely, some of these dimensions are good for gauging leadership potential. I've seen these in action within our team. Take learning agility, for instance, When faced with a sudden shift in project scope, it not only swiftly adapted but also embraced the challenge as a learning opportunity. Drive is a key aspect as well. Despite encountering obstacles in a complex project, a team that shows unwavering determination can achieve challenging goals. Self-awareness, a true game-changer, surfaced during a feedback session. A team member displayed remarkable self-awareness by openly acknowledging their areas for improvement. Lastly, influence played a key role when a leader skillfully aligned the team behind a new vision.

If you wish to try a 'simple-but-not-easy' approach, here's one assessment that never fails: Give any potential leader an opportunity to step-up and lead a project/team that challenges them to bring their best and/or their worst. You'll see this is frequently done in all settings where leadership is a survival skill: Defense, Adventure sports, and last but not least, Parenting :) Marked by common traits, each leader needs to adapt to the role uniquely: somewhere you need more empathy than strategy, but in other roles, you'll require more decision making than creative thinking. So with respect to available tools, there's no parallel to a closely-supervised scenario to test the waters.. if only you can invest efforts to create one

Managers do five things: 1) Set Goals 2) Make Plans 3) Gather and Organize Resources 4) Lead/Delegate/Work Through Others 5) Control (monitor and adjust) When you observe a person and think "this person has management potential," you are often recognizing that the person does one or more of these things naturally. People who get into a management role and struggle often do not enjoy or want to do these things. It may sound too simplistic, but this is the best place to start. Look for these traits in people, and ensure every hopeful manager understands that this is what the job will be.

I've found that understanding an employee's approach to challenges can be illuminating. Leaders can assess potential by observing how employees react to setbacks: do they view them as learning opportunities or as insurmountable obstacles? Engage them in discussions to understand their beliefs about abilities – are they innate or can they be developed? Also, watch for their enthusiasm for learning and their resilience in the face of challenges. True leadership potential often lies in those who see effort as a pathway to growth and who believe that abilities can be honed over time.

Delegation is a no-cost method to assess and measure leadership potential. Delegating a task or series of tasks to an individual offers the chance to observe and measure performance based on actual actions. I say this is no-cost because leadership requires your attention and when tasks are delegated you deliver the task to someone else, but you remain responsible for the result. If the situation goes sideways, you have the responsibility to step in and "right the ship."

Use 360 degree feedback carefully. Research suggests it is best when disconnected from conversations of remuneration. Feedback is more authentic when both the giver and the recipient know it will be used to improve performance, not as a benchmark for calculating merit pay and promotions. Note as well that leaders come in all shapes and sizes. Too many organizations still rely on the "Great Man" theory of leadership and rely on mechanistic tools like psychometric tests to identify new leaders. This perpetuates inequality. Consider vision, values, and commitment to ethics as key metrics. And while leadership is important, so is followership. Cultivate new leaders from your ranks of excellent followers.

Absolutely, utilizing the insights from leadership development assessments creates a powerful roadmap for growth. Crafting tailored strategies ensures your employees thrive as future leaders. By incorporating personalized feedback and mentorship, we're not just nurturing potential, we're sculpting exceptional leadership. Providing a blend of curated learning experiences, be it formal training or innovative digital resources, hones their skills and expertise. And let's not forget the transformative power of stretch assignments – a playground for leaders to emerge stronger and more adaptable. Throughout this journey, our role as mentors is pivotal – guiding, challenging, and celebrating their progress.

But don't place too much reliance on quantitative metrics. Consider qualitative measures as well. Too many people rely on SMART goals without paying due care to the culture that promotes a healthy work environment. When it comes to developing leadership capacity, organizational culture wins every time.

Another effective coaching methodology that can help here is GROW. Identify their Goal. Discuss their current Reality. Explore the Options to get there. Establish some accountability steps to help reinforce their Will to succeed.

What happens after the assessment is the most important part of the process. I have a podcast episode where I talk about this in more detail, but the training, coaching, and ongoing work is where we actually develop skills.

The best way is a personal conversation to understand were the employee is standing. In this conversation, I recommend to talk about the following: - self-assessment of their leadership skills - your assessment of their leadership skills with regards to strength and weaknesses - feedback of other sources to get a full picture -talk about weaknesses and how to tackle them. Talk about strength and how to bring them out even more. Agree on measures to take To measure progress -define the frequency of meetings to measure progress -talk about the measure with regards to improving strength and tackle weaknesses. Always prepare theses meetings. There are several tools and template that help you prepare these meetings

Monitoring leadership potential is akin to nurturing a growth mindset—it's a continuous journey. Regularly revisiting and recalibrating goals ensures alignment with evolving roles. I'd advocate for periodic feedback sessions, not just from superiors but peers, to understand the lived experiences and the subtle transformations. Tools like surveys or even narratives can be particularly revealing, capturing the nuances of growth or fixed mindsets. Remember, the real measure is not just in achieving targets but in the approach and mindset towards challenges and growth.

Leadership is two things: managing resources and developing people. This should be done through the daily work by utilizing effective delegation: setting expectations, defining boundaries, adequately resourcing, consistent follow-up and feedback. In this one should see through their daily interaction with their staff an increase in competence of current skills, acquisition of new skills, and ability to effectively execute with little oversight. Production and quality should increase. Their sphere of impact should see these developments by the improvement in interactions and quality of deliverables. Particularly their ability to lead (manage resources and develop people) with those who are equal or subordinate to them.

The key here is consistent engagement between a supervisor and their direct report. I’ve witnessed far too many supervisors or managers who only “check in” with their employees quarterly or worse bi-annually. The best supervisors are constantly engaged with their people. Not telling them what to do (micromanagement) but observing them in action, asking them powerful coaching questions, actively listening to what is said (and not said), and helping their people build their autonomy, mastery, and purpose in their roles.

I often take a holistic approach for leadership potential relative to the individual's aspirations; 1. What key position should this individual be prepared for? Over what time span? 2. What are the individual’s career plans/objectives? 3. What learning strengths should guide the individual’s (leadership) development? 4. By what methods/strategies may the objectives be met? 5. How can the relative success of each learning objective be measured for the referenced individual as it relates to the organization and global society? 6. Does the suggested individual demonstrate poise, active collaborative engagement and transparency? 7. Is the individual approachable and open to constructive feedback? 8. Unsolicited Peer Feedback

Leaders will lead. The best way to know if someone has leadership potential is to see if anyone follows them. Do people echo their ideas? Do they take initiative? Do they watch out for others?

Too many people go into management because it is the only path for status and pay boosts. Find other ways to give these without forcing people who aren't suited for management or won't enjoy management into management roles.

The first thing to really consider is whether the person actually WANTS to manage & lead. Not everyone does or they aren’t suited to it, it’s not their chosen or desired future and then end up in a role that their heart really isn’t invested in. It’s OK for people not to become leaders or managers if it’s not for them and it will save organisations investments in time, training & financial investment if they can identify and support people who simply don’t want to lead. And for those who do or who an organisation thinks would make a good manager ? Take the time to show them what it means, what it will involve & then allow them to choose if it’s still the path THEY wish to follow & then invest in their growth & leadership.

Everyone wants to be good at their job and to have some sort of leadership impact in the processes they are involved with. Where people get tripped p is they think of it as a power structure, so the key is reframing it as one's ability to facilitate others being successful in the work. This reshapes how people think of their role and influence, and quickly highlights what poor technique looks like.

Some great thoughts and approaches. Skills are essential and how the are used in the context which is important, but leaders are not based on their position they have an attitude a set of behaviours that makes others follow they have a vision that gives purpose and meaning and empowers others to grow and develop while letting them make mistakes but still be trusted. Some leaders don't wish to be managers if business units or a firm but use their capabilities as experts or specialists this needs to be considered too in potential identification.