September 14

This excerpt is from a column I wrote for the?Daily Journal of Commerce, 4/22/13.

Put potential leaders to the test

How do you screen and develop future leaders??There’s no substitute for trial by fire.?But there are also formal skill and personality assessment tools, of which there is no shortage in the market.??What’s critical is to try to understand fit and potential early by assessments that measure what potential candidates naturally gravitate toward.?People can be trained, but if an assessment indicates that a candidate is very low on initiative, you’re not going to transform that person into an inspired leader who comes up with new ideas.?The same can be said about other key leadership measurements, such as whether they are naturally a positive person or confident in presenting their own ideas.??These assessments are useful, even if your candidates are not the future owners.?Knowing the potential of your staff will help you understand how far you can develop them and where they fit in the organization.?It also helps you identify emerging leaders before they are faced with tasks beyond their nature.

Leo