Six Ways to Spot Leadership Potential on Your Team

To grow your business, you need more than talent—you need leadership. Here’s how to find it.

If you want to succeed as a leader, you’ve got to have a great team in place. You’ll just never achieve the long-term results you want without one.

Why? Because when you get the right people in the right roles, you satisfy more customers. And those happy customers drive revenue. That’s what I call a formula for success!

The question is, how do you identify up-and-coming leaders who can build the dream team and take your organization to the next level?

Today, I want to share a few key characteristics that have helped me (and other CEOs) identify potential leaders. This list can help you get the right people in the right leadership roles, whether you’re hiring or promoting from within.

Oh, and if you’re not in a leadership position yet, use this list of characteristics to honestly assess your own potential!

Ready? Let’s dive in!

1. Self-awareness

The worst leaders have no clue how their behavior and style impact others. Hiring or promoting those people is the fastest way to lose great talent and tarnish your culture.

Instead, look for people with high levels of self-awareness. Will Ahmed, the CEO of Whoop, calls it “the ability to be a step ahead of yourself,” and it was a key way he leveled up his own leadership as his startup grew. 

What to look for: Self-aware people understand their own strengths and weaknesses. They’re mindful of the effect they have on other people. And with that awareness comes control, so they’re more even-keeled and less prone to moodiness and outbursts.

To measure self-awareness, get people talking about their strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots. Watch them in tense moments to see how they regulate themselves when the pressure is on. 

Why it matters: Leaders cast a shadow. Without self-awareness, leaders are blind to the effect their behavior has on other people. A leader who understands and regulates themselves will create a safe, functional culture that others want to be a part of.

Discover more great insights from Will Ahmed >

2. Empathy

Geoff Colvin is the Senior Editor-at-Large for Fortune and the author of Humans are Underrated: What High Achievers Know that Brilliant Machines Never Will. For him, empathetic leaders are key to building strong teams.

Why? As he told me, “the problems we face in our companies today are too hard for somebody sitting alone in their office to solve.”

Great leaders have to build great teams, and that takes empathy.

What to look for: In Geoff’s words, empathy is “the ability to discern what someone else is thinking or feeling and then respond in some appropriate way.” 

Who are the people in your organization that others continually go to for support? Who knows how to make real connections? Who has the knack for saying the right thing at the right time? 

Those people have what Geoff calls “the skills of deep human interaction,” and they can help you build a strong team. 

Why it matters: Leadership revolves around relationships. If a leader doesn’t prioritize empathy, sensitivity, and genuine connection with others, they’ll struggle to build a team that can work together effectively and solve big challenges.

Discover more insights from Geoff Colvin >

3. Humility

Larry Bossidy, retired Chairman and CEO of Honeywell, is widely regarded as one of America’s most thoughtful and successful executives. When he looks for leadership talent, he puts a high value on humility. 

“I always say that as you progress through a management system, you either grow or you swell,” Larry told me. “The people who grow continue on to do great things, and those who swell stop growing and they fall off the ladder.”

What to look for: We often assign “natural leader” labels to the loudest and most confident people in the room. But if you want to identify your next great leaders, don’t overlook the person who works behind the scenes supporting people and helping them be at their best.

Of course, the best leaders have both humility and confidence. People won’t follow someone who doesn’t project confidence in what they’re doing and where they’re going. But they show they need others to get it done—asking questions, listening to ideas, and looking for ways to support the whole team.

Why it matters: Leadership is a team sport. You can put someone in charge, but they won’t get very far unless they can take people with them. And that means being willing to put others first, to be comfortable not having all the answers, and not to have an over-inflated sense of their own importance.

Discover more insights from Larry Bossidy >

4. Initiative

Mark King is the CEO of Taco Bell, and when he looks for potential leaders, he wants to see people who aren’t afraid to be bold and take the initiative.

He’ll even ask people if they like to break the rules—not the legal rules, of course—but rather those unwritten conventions every industry and organization follows. That boldness and initiative are signs of someone who is comfortable being out front and leading others. 

What to look for: Followers tend to, well, follow. If you want to see if someone has leadership potential, make sure they’re comfortable being out in front. Are they willing to take risks? Do they look for opportunities to do things differently? Do they relish big, bold ideas?

Why it matters: Leaders go first. You need people with the boldness to take initiative and think differently. They’ll help your organization stay agile by finding breakthrough ideas and putting real momentum behind them.

Discover more insights from Mark King >

5. Problem solving

Colin Powell is famous for saying, “Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you problems is the day you stop leading them.”

If you want to hire and promote great leaders, then you need to find problem solvers.

What to look for: These are the people whose eyes light up when they hear about a challenge or who spring into action during a crisis. 

It starts with how they diagnose a situation. Can they define the reality of what’s going on around them, or do they tend to bury their head in the sand?  

Then, how do they look at possible solutions? The best thinkers will show you that they’ve explored a few ways to tackle the challenge, not just the first thing that came to mind.

And most importantly, they have a plan to execute. They’ve thought through what they need, and they know how to make it happen.

Why it matters: Problem solving is a fundamental part of what it means to lead. If someone works capably in normal circumstances but struggles with unexpected issues and crises, they may not be ready for a leadership role yet. 

6. Curiosity

For me, the single biggest differentiator between a good leader and a great leader is their desire to learn.

In fact, I wrote a whole book called How Leaders Learn about the power of active learning for leaders. To me, a desire to learn is proof that someone has an active mind and a curiosity about their world. Those are crucial qualities in a leader.

What to look for: Pay close attention to people who are passionate about learning their craft and getting better every single day. Ask questions that probe into their learning habits. What are they reading and listening to? What best practices have they gleaned from others over the years? 

Why it matters: Organizations and markets are always shifting and evolving. Active leaders are curious about those changes. They continually raise their game so they stay sharp and ready for whatever’s next.

Self-awareness, empathy, humility, initiative, problem-solving ability, and curiosity – that sure sounds like an absolute slam dunk for that next promotion or leadership hire.

Now that you know what to look for in future leaders, how will you use this information to help you create your winning team or improve your own leadership?

What characteristics would you add to the list? Drop me a comment below and let me know what you look for in your potential leaders!

Your Next Step

Make the How Leaders Lead app part of your daily leadership routine! It’s 100% free to download and use, no catch. 

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