20 Signs an Employee is Ready to Lead
Stepping into a leadership role is an exciting and challenging milestone, but how can you be sure you have a team member that’s ready for the responsibilities ahead?
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This List is designed to help assess someone’s leadership readiness, help build essential skills, and aid in positioning that individual for success.
List of Items to Help Determine if an Employee is Ready to Lead in Your Organization:
1. They Have the Key Traits of a Successful Leader Your Organization Values
Explore the essential qualities your organization looks for in its future leaders. Evaluate if the individual embodies these characteristics and especially call out any soft skills, adaptability, and decision-making abilities.
2. Look for Signs the Person is Ready
Do they have strong communication?
How about observing their use of mentorship skills?
Do they have an existing track record of success (not only in their current role, but managing and handling others)?
3. Do They Have Credibility Within the Organization?
Having credibility already makes it easier for the person to gain trust, develop influence, and establish authority positively with their new team.
4. Readiness Gap Analysis.
There are many tools, frameworks, and other complimentary tools to help assess leadership readiness and identify areas for growth. Leverage one.
5. Have they Overcome Imposter Syndrome?
Talk with them, See if they’ve addressed the common fears and insecurities about stepping into a leadership role and their confident they can overcome their concerns (it’s called ‘growth’).
6. How is Their Emotional Intelligence?
Gauge their feelings on how EQ plays a critical role in managing teams and leading with empathy. Ensure they align with the mission, vision, and values of the company.
7. How Will They Handle the Transition from Peer to Leader?
Is the person ready to shift from being a team member to leading former peers. Ask them if they’re relying on any tips and what those are (even provide tips you may have for them).
8. What do They Believe are the Must-Have Leadership Skills for the Next Decade
Cover future-focused skills such as digital literacy, cross-cultural communication, and innovation mindset. What are your industry specific skills they should find important (e.g. if you’re in technology and the leader doesn’t bring up A.I., they’re probably not ready).
9. Has the Candidate Professionally and Politely Advocated for Themselves?
This shows great respect for the job and organization if they’ve been able to positively position themselves as the ideal candidate for a leadership role.
10. Have They Been a Mentor or Shown Mentorship Skills?
It’s not the end of the world if they haven’t had the opportunity or shown mentorship abilities, but it’s definitely an area where additional training could be taken before promoting the individual.
11. Is Self-Awareness and the Right Kind of Confidence Present?
There’s Captain Picard confidence, and then there’s Professor Moriarty confidence. We’d prefer a positively confident, humble, and highly self-aware presence in our leaders.
12. Watch out for Your Own Bias and Misconceptions.
There are many myths about leadership readiness. Make sure you debunk any misconceptions you have (like a leader needing to have all the answers or someone is born a (natural-born) leader.
13. Have Them Take a Leadership Readiness Quiz.
It might sound silly, but if you use these all as many factors to consider, including a simple quiz or checklist can enable your candidate(s) to assess their preparedness.
14. Who are Their Role Models or Stories They Look up to?
Another one that’s not a deal breaker, but ask them who their influences are. Chances are this will give you an insight into how they’ll lead.
15. Can the Candidate Talk Through Their Leadership Development Plan? Do They Even Have one?
Here’s another one that doesn’t end an interview for me, but it is very impressive if the person has step-by-step guide mapped out for themselves, “what they would do if it was their team,” or some sort of timeline for their future.
16. How do They Handle Feedback.
Run scenarios by the person. Give them feedback on how they handled it. Discuss how soliciting and incorporating feedback can accelerate leadership growth and their feelings on that.
17. Are They Already Thinking Like a Leader?
Some people call this “fake it to you make it.” That’s not what we’re talking about here. It’s more about asking if they’ve adopted a leadership mindset in their current roles.
18. How Many Mistakes has the Individual Made.
Are they common mistakes the person keeps making? Discuss common missteps that aspiring leaders wouldn’t make.
19. How’s Their Bureaucracy Barometer?
It’s important to build relationships up and down the food chain. Has the person upset the wrong people (would they even be successful in a leadership role, or would we be setting them up for failure)? There’s massive importance in building positive relationships and leveraging connections for leadership success.
20. Continuous Learning: A Leader’s Secret Weapon
Last, but not least. A common personality trait with great leaders is reading and continually learning. Measure their stance on this and/or what they’ve done for lifelong learning, certifications, or leadership workshops.
Feel free to use this checklist. You’ve probably got your own checklist. But if not, or you think we made some great points, make this your checklist!
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