When growing your business, branching out, or adding new management, the best place to look for potential leaders is your current work force. After all, who knows the ins and outs of your company better?
Even if you don’t have any current plans to expand, it’s a good idea to be on the look-out for innovators, risk-takers, and go-getters...individuals who can help bring your organization a new level.
So how can you spot people with growth potential? Fortunately for you, they are hard to keep in the background.
| People who take initiative in their current role make suggestions for improvement but do not overstep boundaries. Leaders are not content with the status quo and are ready to make changes and eager to make things happen. | |
| People who work independently and think outside the box while respecting important rules and procedures. Potential managers do not need much day-to-day guidance and want to be free to try new things. | |
| People who make decisions without needing to confer with their manager or carefully review guidelines. While natural leaders are not reckless, they can handle the consequences if a decision does not work outright. | |
| People who build solid professional relationships. They might be outgoing and expressive or more serious and informative, but they know how to connect with people to get the job done. Future managers are often respected and consulted by others on their team. | |
| People who consistently show good judgment in what they say and do on the job. These people make wise decisions, choose their words carefully, and maintain necessary confidentiality. A good manager does not overthink matters but is not impulsive or careless either. |
If you think you have spotted future leaders in your midst, consider having a behavioral assessment done, spend time training and mentoring them, and offer them a new project or added responsibilities to see how they fare. Given a chance, they might amaze you.
