How to Identify Leaders? 8 Key Tips
To remain competitive and grow in the market, companies need to develop leaders. Thus, it is necessary to identify talents who have this profile and prepare them to assume management positions.
However, how do we train professionals to manage people and processes who still have a strategic view of the business and inspire the teams? Putting some actions aimed at developing leaders.
If you are interested in this subject, follow our post. Below we show how you can identify leaders in the workplace and the importance of providing leadership training. Enjoy your reading!
Before we show you the tips on developing leaders, it is interesting to know that being a leader is different from being a boss. A leader knows the people on the team well and has the role of adding and inspiring the team.
With this, it values the performance of each one, encourages people to participate in decisions, gives and receives feedback, and knows how to mediate conflicts. This person also works so that his team can develop within the company.
The grand goal of a leader is to manage his team’s knowledge with wisdom. It is desirable for also that a leader can handle the employee’s skills and capabilities, aiming at the company’s objectives to be achieved.
7 TIPS TO IDENTIFY LEADERS
After all, how can we develop leaders in the organization? Check out the tips below!
1. Observe people and identify skills that can be improved
Despite the advantages of training leaders, it is necessary to consider that not all people have this profile. Therefore, human resources need to observe people and identify those with leadership characteristics. What’s the best way to do this? Encouraging teamwork so that interpersonal skills can be known.
When knowing who these talents are, it is necessary to verify which characteristics are identified and need to be developed.
For example, you may have someone who takes the lead on projects, knows how to communicate well, but has difficulty dealing with pressures, such as tight deadlines.
In this case, it is interesting that the company encourages the person to take courses aimed at their personal development to acquire behavioral skills, such as resilience.
2. Give your team space to expose ideas
When recognizing people who have the potential to develop leadership, the second step is to give space for them to express their ideas. Because they are not in management positions, many talents may be uncomfortable expressing their views in a meeting.
Therefore, allow them to express themselves and, with that, they can raise points that will often give rise to innovative solutions for the business.
3. Promote decision-making in your employees
One of the benefits of promoting leadership in the company is developing a strategic and manageable view of the team. Employees who are encouraged to manage also strengthen their ability to define situations.
In addition to learning from mistakes, those with a decision-making profile assume responsibilities without compromising business results and collaborate, promoting greater agility.
Some people have difficulty making decisions due to personality issues or the work environment. It is worth mentioning that there are techniques capable of developing this aptitude in them, like short courses or mentorships.
With this, it is possible to encourage proactivity and self-management.
4. Implement the feedback culture
When leading, it is essential to give and receive feedback, so if the company is developing leadership, it needs to implement this culture. As a result, relationships between teams become more transparent, and everyone knows what needs to be improved so that there is more quality in work.
For those who are on the way to becoming a leader, getting feedback on their performance, especially their strengths and weaknesses, is a way of helping to develop skills. In addition, by establishing this culture, the future leader also learns how to give feedback to his team.
5. Often encourage teamwork
A manager who encourages team activities has better results in training their leaders, and this practice promotes communication between people, the discussion of ideas, and a sense of responsibility.
The ability to manage conflicts and proactivity are also characteristics improved by those who work together. Having people who solve situations before they become problems is a recognized competitive advantage in the market.
One tip is to take advantage of activities that will be carried out together or require more than one employee to carry them out, to assess and analyze the attitude of employees. On some occasions, such as when they find themselves in difficult situations or with important decisions to make, it is the best time to identify who has the profile of a leader.
6. Provide training
Training leadership training can help implement the most appropriate leadership style for an organization. There are several leadership styles, all with advantages and disadvantages.
Leadership training can also help leaders individually develop their leading styles, considering which team members respond best. Leadership development programs are not just an investment in an individual but an investment in your organization.
Employees at all levels of management understand the importance of learning and developing skills.
7. Recognize the performance of your employees
The formation of leaders is also encouraged by recognition. Companies that give prominence to their employees and recognize the work developed by them perceive how the action adds to the results.
Closely monitoring employees, giving public praise, and implementing incentive programs are some practices that help to highlight the team’s work.
As simple as it is, rewards are also crucial for recognition, such as bonuses, salary increases, and roles in higher positions.
8. Offer a career path
Finally, the company must demonstrate that it is organized to receive its leaders. How? Offering a career path. With this, people know that they have room to grow in the place, improve their position and salary, and assume a management and leadership position.
If the organization wants to be ready for market changes, it needs to be concerned with training people with a leadership profile. Therefore, it is vital to have a plan that focuses on developing leaders to count on professionals who can make a difference, conduct the business safely, and motivate the teams.
Top Leadership Styles or Profiles
One of the first studies that addressed the issue of leadership profiles was carried out by scholars: Kurt Lewin, Ronald Lippitt, and Ralph White from the University of Iowa in the United States.
Based on their research, they categorized three primary forms of leadership and their consequences:
1. Authoritarian Leadership
In the form of authoritarian leadership, the idea of how to be a good leader is based on creating all the rules. It is the leader who makes all the decisions without the team’s participation.
The boss focuses a lot on the tasks in a practical way, determining techniques for executing the processes, not giving space to the creativity of his subordinates.
The consequences of this type of leadership are very harmful on many levels. This behavior creates tension and frustration in the team.
In addition, there are gaps in spontaneity and initiative that can be compromising.
If the leader leaves the group, people will be lost, as they are not used to making decisions for themselves.
In addition, there may be the problem that the team only works in the presence and supervision of the boss.
Because, in addition to being dependent employees, they can start to associate the company’s tasks negatively and tend to avoid them.
2. Liberal Leadership
In Liberal Leadership, the reverse scenario of being a good leader has been explained above.
Everyone can make decisions freely, and the leader’s participation is minimal and without imposing stringent rules. It starts from the idea that the group does not need supervision or guidance.
The consequences of this type of people management are that the team can be confused about the tasks they must perform.
In addition, this leadership profile is capable of causing disorder, as there is no leader to resolve internal conflicts. It can also generate individualism within the team, which will not be able to think as a team.
3. Democratic Leadership
Democratic leadership involves the team’s participation in tune with the leader for decision-making.
The definition of techniques and ways of performing tasks are determined by who performs them; that is, employees are heard since only those who execute it have practical knowledge about the process.
Therefore, the entire team discusses the issues from the perspective of a leader who stimulates, guides, and manages all those involved.
The mentor also gets involved in the debates and points out the difficulties and improvements that can be made based on their knowledge.
He must know how to listen to suggestions and lead the debate towards evolutionary conclusions for the company.
The consequences are friendly, calm, and mutually trusting relationships. The groups that work under democratic leadership have the highest productivity rates
and more significant employee commitment, and greater team integration.
Among the three forms of leadership, this is the case that most closely matches the profile of how to be a good leader.
Importance of training leaders in the company
By developing leaders, companies start to have in their staff people who identify with the business culture and who can motivate the team. In this way, it is possible to have teams that work in an aligned manner, increasing productivity and improving the organization’s results.
With leaders, the company has people who know how to make decisions and act strategically, preparing the organization for market changes or uncertainty scenarios.
It should also be added that those with a leadership profile improve the organizational climate and value the people on the team, which helps retain talent.
Conclusion
Good leadership training provides individual guidance that can capture the depth of skills and invest in continuing education.
The formation of leaders is a process that requires commitment from managers and employees, and it does not work alone. The entire company must be involved.
Reference and Further Reading
5 Smart Ways to Identify Leaders in Your Organization. Yoh
7 Ways to Identify Leaders Among Your Employees. Fast Company.
