How to Develop the Next Generation of Leaders

Are successful leaders born or created? This classic nature vs. nurture debate plays a key role in developing the next generation of leaders, first by identifying high-potential employees and later deciding who to promote to management or leadership positions. A leadership development plan is crucial to an organization’s growth, talent pipeline, and succession planning. Let’s begin by discussing how to find potential leaders.

How to Find Leaders

Many five-star athletic recruits have been identified as early as middle school. While your organization might not be looking for the next power forward, the lesson is that it’s never too early to start looking for high-potential talent.

Internship programs are a great talent pipeline for any organization. These programs help organizations identify leadership potential early by seeing specific leadership qualities in the interns. They also introduce emerging leaders to the organization's culture and values from day one.

Not only will an organization be able to use these programs to identify leadership qualities early on, but they can also expose those frontrunners to the organization’s culture and values at inception.

So, what qualities should organizations look for when scouting the next generation of talent? Typically, successful leaders have a mix of both hard and soft skills. Examples of leadership qualities to pay close attention to are:

• Resilience
• Authenticity
• Decision-making
• Growth mindset
• Integrity and ethics
• Emotional intelligence
• Strong communication skills

While these skills are green flags to look for in potential leaders, they are not all innate—that is, people are not simply born with them. This further supports the idea that leadership development is crucial for an organization's health.

The Importance of Leadership Development

Placing learning and professional development at the top of the priority list, employees are encouraged to develop new skills and take on new challenges. Organizations with a growth mindset support a continuous learning environment, and leadership development plays a pivotal role. Leadership development prepares next generation leaders who shape the business landscape in many positive ways. Here are just a few:

• New leaders help to keep employees engaged and energized. According to Harvard Business Review, when employees trust their business leaders, they report 10.6% more energy at work, 13% fewer sick days, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, 40% less burnout, 50% higher productivity, 74% less stress, and 76% more engagement.
• New leaders can spur innovation and growth in an organization. This can be achieved through an innovative process or practice or simply by adopting a fresh perspective on long-standing problems.
• New leaders can build and guide high-performing, inclusive teams that attract and retain talent. By fostering trust, open communication, and a strong sense of purpose, they create an environment where people feel motivated and valued.
• New leaders are a natural part of succession planning. In succession planning, a company prepares for the future vacancy of one or more key leadership roles. In this process, key talent is identified as those who can potentially fill these critical positions in the event of retirement, promotion, or separation from the company. Helping high-potential employees develop leadership qualities will help guarantee an organization’s longevity.

How to Develop Leadership Qualities

Leadership development does not happen randomly; developing effective leaders requires a robust program. So, once the selection process is completed and the employees on the all-star team are named, it’s time to get to work.

For each future leader, a leadership development plan should be in place. This plan is specific to that employee’s skill set, outlining their unique needs and personal goals. This plan might include training, job shadowing, and career milestones required to develop the employee’s leadership qualities.

Training and Lifelong Learning

One key leadership quality that sets potential leaders apart is their ability to take initiative. This is important in the type of training assigned to employees being tapped for leadership positions. Assigning self-directed learning puts the employee in the driver’s seat to identify their learning needs, create their own goals, and develop a learning strategy. This gives employees autonomy over their learning and development, essentially taking charge of their careers.

More focus on soft skills training will reap benefits for future leaders. Expressing empathy, improving time management, and being an active listener are important leadership skills. As much as these skills are taught, they must also be exercised.

Hands-on experience is invaluable for their ever-evolving skill development as well as for discovering their leadership style. Create supportive environments by providing opportunities for employees to practice their soft skills in monthly meetings, projects, or employee-led groups. Be open to their new ideas and new ways of approaching challenges.

A culture of continuous learning positions the next-generation leaders not only for success today but for future success.

Job Shadowing

Another way to develop leadership qualities is through job shadowing. Essentially, this allows an employee to get a first-hand look at what a role entails. Not only does it allow employees to meet key stakeholders, but it also helps organizations to find untapped potential presented through cross-training.

Recently, organizations have utilized job rotations, where an employee is assigned a new role after a three-to-six-month period. This allows employees to develop leadership qualities and strengths in different business areas.

Celebrating Career Milestones

Effective leaders also take note of their progress, especially their wins. As your high-potential employees gain more responsibility in their roles or begin managing their team members, even small wins are important to celebrate. Confidence in decision-making and the ability to delegate are skills built over time. Suggest your budding leader keep a success journal to track their wins and see how far they have come.

HSI Can Help

Training the next generation of leaders is no small feat. HSI is successful in helping to build leadership development programs for your high potentials and your C-suite executives. Our content reflects the challenges facing today’s leaders. With skills training, self-directed microlearning, and career pathway guidance, HSI provides the structure to track and measure employees’ progress and success. Our live webinars, such as Leveraging Learning Development for Succession Planning, reinforce the learning and provide actionable pointers to facilitate employee engagement, discussion, and leadership development.

To learn more about HSI’s leadership development programs, schedule a consultation.

Additional Resources

• What Does Authentic Leadership Mean?
• Leveraging Learning Development for Succession Planning
• 3 Key Elements of Effective Leadership Employees Can Learn