Ways to Identify and Cultivate Future Leaders

Pinpointing people with leadership potential is a crucial talent management responsibility. After all, your company’s long-term success depends upon the ability to identify future leaders and prepare them to steer your team in the right direction. But this task is easier said than done. So it helps to consider how other organizations approach this process.

Pinpointing people with leadership potential is a crucial talent management responsibility. After all, your compan’ys long-term success depends upon the ability to identify future leaders and prepare them to steer your team in the right direction. But this task is easier said than done. So it helps to consider how other organizations approach this process.

1: Nominate Employees for Leadership Growth

The best way to identify potential leaders is to let current managers nominate employees for development opportunities, such as fellowship programs or mentorship. Providing formal or informal coaching, mentoring, and training gives future leaders a chance to connect with established leaders, gain perspective, and practice the skills necessary for success.

A fellowship program I developed for one organization led to a 20% improvement in frontline worker retention at the same time 80% of participants received promotions. This program was particularly successful because it offered in-depth, job-specific training, alongside focused leadership coaching and practice opportunities.

For organizations with a limited budget or resources, offering monthly group coaching for a cohort of high potentials can significantly enhance their skills and confidence.

2: Leverage Assessments and Succession Planning

Putting a succession plan in place that leverages the DISC assessment model is a highly effective way to identify and nurture potential leaders.

A succession plan helps ensure business continuity. Also, in partnership with HR leaders, it helps identify future leaders with a fair, consistent process.

The DISC assessment model is a popular leadership assessment model based on four behavioral style categories – Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. It is useful in developing promising people for leadership roles because it helps organizations determine how each style plays out in a leadership capacity

No particular style is best for leadership success, as evidenced by the diverse styles of well-known CEOs like Gates, Buffett, Winfrey, and Bezos. Each style brings unique strengths as well as areas for growth. Both are critical in understanding leadership potential.

3: Incorporate Employee Resource Groups

Some of the best resources for talent developments are Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). These groups build strong team bonds that can turn employees into highly trusted future leaders. In addition, members learn skills that help them listen, support, and advocate for themselves and others.

Often, employees in these groups naturally rise into leadership roles that give them a taste of what a future in leadership looks like. And because these ERGs are designed to foster diversity, members have the kind of values to become well-rounded leaders with unique voices and perspectives.

4: Invest in Development Programs for Underrepresented Groups

A formal mentorship program is a fabulous way to identify potential leaders and nurture their growth.

From a DEIB perspective, we know folks from historically excluded and underrepresented groups (URGs)report less access to mentorships. Also, when formal mentorship programs don’t exist between junior employees and leadership, informal mentoring relationships tend to include people who share common traits, including identities like race, gender, and disaiblity status.

As a result many talented potential future leaders are left out of important developmental relationships. So by investing in an intentional mentorship program focused on URGs, organizations can tap into a larger pool of future leaders who might otherwise go overlooked.

Reflection Question: What were some of the most interesting discoveries you made while reading this blog article? About the problem? About yourself? About others?