When you first start your business, you’ll probably be the only real leader in the whole organisation, and one is all it needs. However, after your fledgling start-up has grown into a sizable company, you’ll begin to notice the need for more. If you want your business to avoid falling into total disarray, then you’ll need to create some kind of plan for developing leaders. Good leaders at your business will help to guide it to exciting new places, and provide a second pair of keen eyes for you. If you feel unsure of how to grow them, then here’s a guide that should make it easier.
If you’ve been running your company for a few years, then you’ve probably identified some promising future leaders. However, if you’re still in the start-up phases, doing this can feel pretty tough. On the upside, you won’t need skilled leaders too badly in your early days. However, it pays to pick out a few good employees as soon as possible. Obviously, you don’t have to stick with one worker for their entire career! When you’re looking for leaders to raise, I advise you to look more for potential than performance. I understand this might be against your gut instincts. Don’t worry, I’m not saying that performance should be completely discounted. This is especially true when you’re developing your employees! While a worker’s experience and knowledge is certainly important, an employee’s want to grow should also be factored in. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that some professionals do great at their job, but simply don’t have what it takes to be an effective leader. Natural leaders simply won’t be comfortable working as followers to someone else. They’ll actively try to set themselves apart from other workers at their level, and take charge of things wherever they can. They may not be the best at their job now. However, they’ll make better leaders than a lot of employees who simply keep their heads down!
Good leaders do have some distinct traits, true. However, you should also be paying attention to your candidate’s engagement with the business as a whole. When an employee takes the business’s ups and downs as if it were their company, you know you’ve got a good leader. Some workers are far too wrapped up in their individual goals to be effective frontrunners. However, there are a few professionals at any company who think of the business first, then themselves. Sure, you might have found someone who’s great at bossing people around and keeping teams motivated. However, are they doing it for the good of the business or just because they seem to like it? You really want to work with the people who go above and beyond their job description for some solid benefits for the company at large. Some people will throw out suggestions for process improvement, only so that people will think they’re full of ideas. Keep an eye out for employees who make fewer, more valuable suggestions rather than ones who never seem to stop!
Another important thing to consider is that good leaders are doers, rather than watchers. This is another divide you see in almost any organisation on earth. There are always those who look to get their hands dirty, and will use their skills to further whatever project the business is focussed on. Others, on the other hand, will wait around for a task to be given to them. If you notice higher-ups who can’t wait to exercise their unique skills, then consider raising them to be leaders. As I’m sure you know, being the leader of a business doesn’t always go according to plan. Sometimes, shifts in the industry and other abrupt changes can throw everything up in the air. When this happens, you need leaders you can depend on to get the business back to a stable, manageable place. When an employee is determined to get involved with anything and everything, it shows a healthy proactive attitude. This can be exceedingly useful for when things go wrong at your business. Passive employees would panic and end up making rash decisions. However, a proactive employee will be more used to quickly finding solutions to problems.
One trait that a lot of business owners seem to overlook in potential leaders is accountability. When an employee screws up, it’s easy to focus on the fault itself, and forget about the way they handle it. You should make a point of the way your workers face up to failure though. You want them to be accountable whenever they make a mistake that damages the rest of the company. If someone’s the head of a small team which fails in some way, it’s common for them to pass the buck. The graphic designer may not be used to the new tablet he’s using, an admin may have been sick and slowed the whole process down. Good leaders will face up to all of their responsibilities, and always answer for their failures in a mature and professional way. If someone enjoys a sense of power, but doesn’t want to hold themselves accountable when things go wrong, then forget them. This is a sure sign of someone lacking good leadership skills. The Harvard Business Review published a great feature on holding people accountable at your business.
So, there you have some of the most important traits for leaders at your business. Once you’ve found a few people exhibiting all those traits, it’s time to put them through their paces. As convenient as it would be, humans aren’t robots. Someone who seems like they’d be a natural leader in one environment may actually struggle to take charge in a new role. It’s important to separate the wheat from the chaff long before you make any promotions!
One great way of testing an employee’s leadership skills is gradually adding more responsibility to their role. Just like a pro-active attitude, being able to multi-task is also extremely useful when things go wrong for the business. When you’re struggling to keep afloat, higher-ups’ workloads can double overnight. Here, you need someone who can concentrate on more than one task with relative ease. Throw your candidate in at the deep end, and monitor their performance. Obviously, it may take a week or two for them to find their footing. However, if they’re struggling far too much, then it’s time to cross them off the “potential leaders” list. All leaders have to multi-task, and business won’t start and stop at their convenience. Make sure your hopefuls can deal with extra responsibility before taking them any further.
Communication and people skills are extremely important in a modern business leader. When you have people working under you, there are times when you need to resolve conflicts, and keep team members engaged when morale is waning. This requires a certain social aptitude and sensitivity. Good leaders can discipline the people they’re directing, without stirring up resentment. By the same token, they’ll be able to encourage and complement people’s work without pandering to favouritism. Sometimes, you may have a position to fill that can’t wait. It’s fairly common to have a candidate who has all the right traits except communication. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is something you can brush over! Sometimes, it’s a good idea to get some outside help with developing your leaders. Take some time to learn about MAC6 and other corporate training services.
Finally, make sure to develop your candidate’s skills by having them interact with current leaders. In my opinion, the best way for someone to develop skills is by doing. Until your protégé is in a position to actually lead, then the best thing they can do is watch leaders closely. Look for any opportunity you can to have your up-and-comers working with your best current leaders. The more they pick up in this period, the easier it will be for them to hit the ground running at their new position. You shouldn’t be making your managers responsible for formal training out of the blue. However, you should probably make a point that you’re raising the employee in question for a leadership position. Your upper management will probably be very strained as it is. Still, it will be a much better use of time if they explain how things work to your candidates, rather than keeping their heads down. When developing leaders, you need to show them exactly what they’re getting into. This will give them a lot of handy exposure, and help to develop the mind-set that all great business leaders have.
I hope this guide has made raising leaders at your business a lot easier. Choosing the right people to control whole areas of your business can feel like an extremely daunting task. However, good leaders are essential to growth, and your company won’t get far without them! Start the process as soon as possible, and be meticulous with your choices. With a steady, careful approach, you’ll be able to find the perfect match in no time!
