Developing potential leaders in your team is a key aspect of operational planning. It helps you ensure the continuity and effectiveness of your operations, as well as the growth and satisfaction of your team members. But how do you identify and nurture the leadership skills and potential of your team? Here are some tips and strategies to help you.
The first step is to evaluate your team's current performance, skills, and goals. You can use various tools and methods, such as feedback surveys, self-assessments, performance reviews, and SWOT analysis, to gather data and insights. Based on this information, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your team, as well as the opportunities and threats for improvement. You can also pinpoint the areas where you need more leadership capacity or capability, and the team members who have the potential or interest to fill those roles.
A crucial aspect of assessing your team is also taking the time to get to know them personally. Obviously, the bigger the team is, the harder this task becomes, but it makes an enormous difference to you as the leader and also to the team themselves if they recognise that you are genuinely interested in them as people rather than resources. Make the time to speak to them as individuals and as a group. Learn more about their interests and ambitions. That knowledge will help you understand who needs more support, who is ready for more responsibility, who you can rely on to deputise for you etc. It sounds simple and yet, in my experience, far too few leaders make the time to do this and are, consequently, too distant from their teams.
…and less trusted as a consequence, perhaps inhibiting the team’s potential for the kind of open and honest dialogue which leads to problem-solving, creativity, learning, and joy in shared success.
An example of Team building that has worked in the past for me is to remove the team from the immediate work environment. Go somewhere or do something as a group of people that has nothing to do with work and try to enjoy yourselves as people. Let your hair down a little bit and have non work related conversations. Be creative so it doesn’t come across as “mandatory fun”
A SWOT analysis or some other form of team review is key, but often leaders focus on static skills instead of projecting where their team can be, where they want to be, and where they need to be. People will continually surprise you when you treat them 'as if' they are already there.
Leadership is a full-time pursuit. Instead of asking our team members to transition from ignorant obedience to thoughtful proactivity, we can and should train leaders from the day they join our team. Let every member see how their individual contribution facilitates the overall success of the team. Let them see all of the operation strategically, and listen to their feedback without ego. Answer their questions with the expectation that they will soon do your job, allowing you to do your boss's job.
The next step is to provide coaching and mentoring to your potential leaders. Coaching is a process of helping them set and achieve their goals, improve their skills, and overcome their challenges. Mentoring is a relationship of sharing your experience, knowledge, and guidance with them. You can use various techniques, such as asking open-ended questions, giving constructive feedback, offering support and encouragement, and challenging them to stretch their abilities. You can also connect them with other mentors or coaches in your organization or network, who can offer different perspectives and insights.
I've found that the best form of coaching is trust, even when you have to often close your eyes to their actions. There is a time for input, a time for suggestions, and a time to shut up and let them do on their own. If they are worth keeping in a position, they will self-assess their own actions, review the results of their mistakes or successes, then be even more ready for 'old head' reflections and experience.
Whilst you can always use your experience to mentor your team members and bring on the best of them as future leaders, coaching is a different skill and all too often confused with mentoring. To coach well you need to avoid providing advice or solutions and, instead, ask good open socratic questions that help to bring out the the individual's own ideas and options. Good questions often start with What, Who, When, Where, Why or How but be careful with Why because it can sometimes appear unhelpfully challenging. For more senior leaders, it is worth employing the services of a qualified coach who does not work directly with the subject. This avoids the risk of inadvertent mentoring and also provides a safe space for richer discussion.
Constructive feedback is vital for developing potential leaders. By offering feedback in a positive and transformative manner, we create a conducive learning environment. Emphasizing the positives and providing specific suggestions for improvement helps individuals understand their strengths and areas for growth. Learning to receive feedback without assuming ill intent is equally important. Approaching feedback with an open mind allows us to gain valuable insights from different perspectives, uncover blind spots, and identify areas for improvement. Feedback is not a personal attack, but an opportunity to enhance our skills and abilities.
The third step is to delegate tasks and responsibilities to your potential leaders. Delegation is a way of empowering them to take ownership and accountability for their work, as well as to develop their decision-making, problem-solving, and communication skills. You can delegate according to their strengths, interests, and goals, and provide them with clear expectations, resources, and deadlines. You can also delegate according to the level of complexity and autonomy, starting with simple and routine tasks, and gradually moving to more challenging and creative ones.
Delegation is a crucial skill for leaders to develop as they become increasingly senior and, as a result, increasingly busy. Too many leaders seek to cling on to everything they did before, and just add on the additional roles and responsibilities that come with every promotion. Not only does this leave your team feeling disempowered, or worse micromanaged, it also fails to develop them into the position that they can follow you up the leadership ladder. Next time you have the chance to delegate a big chunk of your role (when you are on holiday for example), give it a try! Trust one of your team and give them clear boundaries to work within without the need to refer up to you - you might just be amazed at the results!
Delegation is incredibly important to leaders. As your team’s tasks grow, and become more complex you can simply not be everywhere at once. It is important you can show trust in those who work for you, both from a basic leadership point of view, but also to enable them to grow professionally at the same time. But remember; you can delegate the task but never the overall responsibility.
Without delegation, not only of tasks but also of decision-making and direction, each team member becomes merely an extension of yourself. That limits the organization to--yourself. Delegation has--to an extent--include the review of how a project is going except for some key top-level results. I've seen many a leader delegate the tasks, but then micromanage to death their teams with questions and feedback. The results were teams who did only what they thought the boss wanted them to do.
The fourth step is to create learning and development opportunities for your potential leaders. Learning and development are essential for enhancing their knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as for keeping them motivated and engaged. You can create various opportunities, such as training courses, workshops, webinars, online resources, books, podcasts, and articles, that are relevant and aligned with their goals and needs. You can also encourage them to participate in cross-functional projects, assignments, or rotations, that expose them to different aspects of your operations and organization.
Individual professional development isn't just about creating the right learning opportunities for your team members. It is crucial to provide them the time to attend the relevant courses and also to ensure that they are freed from the distractions of their normal role whilst they are there. Good leaders will make it clear to their team that they should focus solely on the training and step back from the day job for that period of time. I have seen far too many people on courses that I facilitate who are clearly distracted by the day job and consequently lose much of the value of the learning opportunity. Give your people the space to develop themselves without adding routine work pressure to them - you will reap the rewards downstream!
The fifth step is to recognize and reward their achievements. Recognition and reward are important for acknowledging their efforts, contributions, and results, as well as for boosting their confidence and morale. You can recognize and reward them in various ways, such as giving verbal or written praise, providing feedback, celebrating milestones, offering incentives, promoting them, or giving them more autonomy or authority. You can also involve them in your operational planning process, and solicit their input, ideas, and feedback.
Two of the most underused words in the English language are "thank you"! Never underestimate the value of those two little words to the people that work for you. Providing recognition that you have noticed and appreciated their contribution is hugely important and makes an impact that is completely disproportionate to the effort required to deliver it. Too many leaders take credit themselves and fail to pass it on to their team. Regardless of who you are, success is very rarely down to you alone. Just take a look at top sportspeople for example. Sure, they have to be outstanding in their field to succeed, but the team behind them are the ones that help them to get there. It is vital to acknowledge and appreciate that support!
Nobody needs a trophy or an annual award to feel valued. They need a pat on the back, a 'thank you', and specific feedback for what they have done. If, as a leader, you don't see things worth a 'thank you', then you are not looking hard enough.
The sixth step is to foster a culture of leadership in your team. A culture of leadership is one that values, supports, and encourages the development and expression of leadership skills and potential in every team member. You can foster such a culture by modeling the behaviors and attitudes of a good leader, such as being respectful, supportive, transparent, collaborative, and accountable. You can also foster such a culture by creating a shared vision and mission for your team, setting clear and realistic goals and objectives, and promoting a sense of teamwork and trust.
I once had a boss who said, "Never turn down an opportunity to lead." As a leader, always look for opportunities for your team members to lead an effort.
If you are the type of leader who is very authoritarian in style, you may well get results, for a while at least, but your team will grow frustrated and resentful. They will be unlikely to support you when the chips are down, and they may well be incapable of performing at all in your absence because they are just not equipped to do so. A better approach is to empower your team from the outset. There is no need to be nervous about loss of authority. The team will still know who is in charge, but an empowered team will be more energised and effective because they know that their ideas and opinions will be heard. They also have a greater level of autonomy to drive progress without constant upward approval being required.
Leadership is an incredibly personal thing. What works for one person may simply be at odds with another person’s personality, and so they may not be able to effectively deliver leadership in that style. Different situations will also require a different type of leadership. There are lots of times to encourage group think, and a relaxed style of leadership. But sometimes a robust and direct approach is what is really needed. The key for all leaders is to understand their team, and the situation, and then be able adapt their style to best fit what is needed.
Many organizations say they want leaders, but don’t encourage risk taking or outside the box thinking. This attracts managers, not leaders, who are simply clones or just trying to impress a superior. Real leaders bring new ideas and methods.
Leaders should always listen more than they speak BUT they should also listen first and then speak, not the other way around. Speaking first will often shut down debate because at least some in your team will be reluctant to disagree with you and so will keep quiet rather than contribute if they feel their opinion is at odds with yours. I have often been in the situation where the smartest person in the room is also the most introverted and the least likely to speak up unless the atmosphere gives them the confidence to do so safely. Your role as the leader is to create this safe space! The bottom line here is that we all have two ears and one mouth and we should use them in proportion and in that order!
Acknowledge this is your team and everyone in the team is equally important. People want to be acknowledge even when they won’t say so. Work on the team as a whole. It’s a fine equilibrium of pushing and pulling but allowing a level of creativity to their own signature. Performing teams count on each other to reach their goals, they will make rules and measure of effectiveness, and they will even areas where they are deficient or need help on. Create a set of rules that are easy to follow, adhere to the rules, and no favoritism. Leaders will rise on their own. Not everyone wants to lead but be willing to show them how to get there without sacrificing the team’s original objectives.