Developing future leaders

How to recognise leadership potential in your existing team.

Hiring new people can bring fresh thinking and new ideas, however, you may already have the right people in place. 

Those who take the lead

Look for people in your team who get stuck into projects and tend to take the lead, regardless of their seniority (or lack thereof). Some people are natural leaders and this is evident in those who are focused on collective success rather than their own individual success. To be a successful business leader, you need to be willing to step up and lead from the front. As such, it’s worth keeping an eye out for this trait in your existing team members.

Volunteers willing to take ownership

Having the drive to try new things, learn and develop new skills is a great quality to look out for in future leaders. Those who volunteer and are keen to take ownership of a project are the ones who will tend to drive growth when they reach management positions. These individuals tend to have a hunger to learn and tend to ensure that they keep their skills up to date.

Emotional intelligence

Knowledge and intellectual firepower are important. However, so is the ability to understand others, use and manage our own emotional understanding in positive ways to communicate effectively,empathise with others and defuse conflict. This is emotional intelligence, and it helps business leaders to build stronger relationships, lead teams of people, get buy-in from others and help them achieve their goals. 

Personal investment

Emerging leaders are personally invested in the future goals and plans for the business. They are motivated to go above and beyond to get results that benefit everyone in the organisation. These are the people you want on your management team.