You have your eye on a couple of people who you think have potential to be your next leaders. Now you need to carefully evaluate them against a few very important measures.
- Does the prospect seem to subscribe to the company's values? If the person's values don't coincide with the organization's, they probably aren't right for any leadership position. They may have potential but probably not in your organization.
- How does this person get along with his or her coworkers? No, being a leader doesn't mean being popular, but someone who doesn't have a relatively good rapport with their peers will probably have a hard time working with anyone.
- Is the person you're considering reliable and trustworthy. You're going to be placing more and more authority and responsibility in their hands. A lack of integrity or reliability will come back to you and can damage your effectiveness and reputation. Also, integrity is very difficult to fix and a problem in that area will probably always be a problem.
Once you think you have your potential leader pegged, you need to do a little testing to see if you have it right. Here are some tests you can do to help determine if a potential leader is really the right choice.
First, get to know as much as possible about the individual. What's their work record? Have there been problems with rules or policies in the past? Are they reliable? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
Second, carefully observe them on the job. Be inconspicuous about this as your presence can change behavior. Watch to see how they interact with others. Are they courteous with fellow workers and with their own boss? Human relationship skills are important and in general, people who can't get along with most of the people around them usually don't make very good leaders. Watch for the person who appears to carry a grudge. There may be a good reason and it might be something that can be resolved; but, it might also be a sign of someone who is never happy with anything.
Third, use a small task (a genuine requirement, not something made up) to give the potential leader a chance to show leadership. Don't expect an amazing transformation to happen at this point; just watch to see how they handle the situation. What you're really looking for at this point is how they attempt to accomplish the task.
One final thought on selecting new leaders. You will probably come across people who think they're the next great leader and want you to know it; but who you just don't feel have the kind of potential you're looking for. Don't string them on! I've seen leaders who will let a subordinate think they are in line for the next promotion and use that expectation to entice them to do all manner of difficult or unpleasant tasks. That's not fair and will just cause discontent in the end. Be honest and if they don't measure up to what you're looking for, tell them.