The Key to Developing Great Leaders
Identify, Train, and Support Your Potential Leaders
The first principle of leadership development is to identify your potential leaders.
Not everyone is cut out to be a leader, but there are certain qualities that you can look for. These qualities include:
- Intelligence: Leaders need to be able to think critically and solve problems. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership found that leaders with high levels of cognitive ability were 2.4 times more likely to be successful in their roles than leaders with low levels of cognitive ability.
- Charisma: Leaders need to be able to inspire and motivate others. A study by the University of Pennsylvania found that leaders with high levels of charisma were 1.5 times more likely to have high-performing teams than leaders with low levels of charisma.
- Drive: Leaders need to be ambitious and have a strong work ethic. A study by the Harvard Business Review found that leaders with high levels of drive were 1.8 times more likely to achieve their goals than leaders with low levels of drive.
- Work ethic: Leaders need to be able to work hard and persevere through challenges. A study by the University of Michigan found that leaders with high levels of work ethic were 1.7 times more likely to be successful in their careers than leaders with low levels of work ethic.
Providing the Right Training
Once you have identified your potential leaders, you need to provide them with the right training. This training should focus on developing their leadership skills, such as:
- Decision-making: Leaders need to be able to make sound decisions under pressure. A study by the Hay Group found that leaders who were good at decision-making were 1.6 times more likely to have high-performing teams than leaders who were not good at decision-making.
- Problem-solving: Leaders need to be able to identify and solve problems. A study by the McKinsey Quarterly found that leaders who were good at problem-solving were 1.4 times more likely to be successful in their careers than leaders who were not good at problem-solving.
- Delegation: Leaders need to be able to delegate tasks effectively. A study by the American Management Association found that leaders who were good at delegation were 1.3 times more likely to have high levels of employee satisfaction than leaders who were not good at delegation.
- Communication: Leaders need to be able to communicate effectively with both their team members and their superiors. A study by the Corporate Executive Board found that leaders who were good at communication were 1.2 times more likely to have high-performing teams than leaders who were not good at communication.
Giving Opportunities to Practice
It is also important to give your potential leaders opportunities to practice their leadership skills. This can be done by giving them challenging assignments, or by rotating them through different leadership positions. A study by the University of California, Berkeley found that leaders who had opportunities to practice their skills were more likely to be successful in their careers.
Providing Ongoing Support
The final principle of leadership development is to provide your leaders with ongoing support. This support can take many forms, such as:
- Coaching: Coaching can help leaders to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and to develop their skills. A study by the International Coaching Federation found that coaching can help leaders to improve their performance by an average of 15%.
- Mentoring: Mentoring can provide leaders with guidance and support from more experienced leaders. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership found that mentoring can help leaders to develop their skills and to advance their careers by an average of 10%.
- Feedback: Feedback can help leaders to learn from their mistakes and to improve their performance. A study by the Gallup Organization found that leaders who received regular feedback were more likely to be successful in their roles by an average of 7%.
Wrapping it up
Leadership development is an ongoing process. It is not something that you can do once and then forget about. You need to constantly be on the lookout for potential leaders, and you need to provide them with the right training and support.
If you do these things, you will be well on your way to developing a team of great leaders.
