Identifying potential team leaders in your company is not as difficult as it seems. With the right techniques, you can choose the right employees who can handle more complicated responsibilities. Instead of hiring outside talent to take on leadership roles, determine which of your current employees are qualified for open positions. This way, you can hire people who already know your business, work culture, and day-to-day operations. To do this, you can consider the following tips:
Contents1. Check their performance2. Use an unbiased evaluation method3. Provide opportunities that foster leadership skills4. Interview current managers and employeesConclusion
Not all employees have the same skill level. Some have more knowledge or experience than others, and this information is not new. The question worth asking is how these employees have fared in your company so far.
If you've treated each member of the team correctly and given them equal opportunities to improve, regardless of their respective potential, chances are their performance has improved. They won't have an excuse such as unfair treatment if they don't meet your company's standards.
In such cases, you can use performance-based metrics to spot potential leaders and build an effective performance management strategy. What is performance management? As the name suggests, it is the overall process of communication between employees and employers in which the latter plan, observe and review how the former performs their tasks.
You can let your employees know how their performance affects their rating when you follow this particular process. For example, a performance-based review may result in certain employees being promoted if it shows they are excelling in their current roles. And when you perform this review, you can also immediately identify those who are following your company's rules and regulations.
Everyone, even the best leaders, has their own biases, so you need to be careful about the metrics you use to judge the skills and performance of your employees. If you only pay attention to employees who have met your own definition of success, you'll promote people who are like you but aren't necessarily the best for the job.
This may seem beneficial at first since you will surely work well with like-minded people, but it could actually cost you more. Since they think like you, they might just make the same mistakes you normally would. As a result, the much needed counterbalance in your organization will be eliminated which could possibly lead to skewed business decisions.
This is why it is more advisable to turn to key metrics and tools that will help you mitigate potential issues that may arise due to bias. Such measures are crucial for finding high-potential employees. Here's what you need to do:
Another great way to assess a team member's potential for a leadership role is to put them in a situation where they can demonstrate and practice their leadership skills. This can mean anything from mentoring other employees to giving them more complex projects to work on. Try to empower your best employees to take on different roles and handle tasks that could turn them into leaders.
By doing this, you will be able to see how well they will do in an unfamiliar situation. It will also provide you with important insights into a particular team member's state of mind and how they perform under pressure.
Additionally, a good indicator of a growth mindset is how a team member views failure. Employees who tend to have a negative perception of failure are more likely to have a fixed mindset. Meanwhile, employees who remain curious despite a few setbacks and believe that delays or problems are an opportunity to learn mean they have a growth mindset. When you consider these factors, you can quickly identify who are potential team leaders.
If you have current or past managers who have worked with your high potentials, it's a good idea to get their opinion. After all, they have direct knowledge of these people. Once you get their assessment; you can then take this into account when evaluating a staff member.
When it comes to interviewing your managers and employees, be sure to use objective metrics. Stick to behavioral questions and avoid leading questions. Finally, be careful who you ask for your opinion, as some may be biased towards their colleagues.
Promoting your employees to become team leaders in your company is a great way to show that you appreciate them. By giving them leadership roles, you recognize that their contributions to your business are highly valued.
However, while the idea of promoting them all seems like a good thing to do, it's best to choose only the most deserving and suitable employees. This way you can ensure that your other employees and your business are in safe hands.
