How to Spot Leadership Potential

In the current talent market, many companies are focused on identifying and developing their future leaders. It’s also a growing part of the work we do at The Bridge. But when I ask business owners, CEOs, or HR leaders to define “leadership potential,” most can’t give a clear answer. Without that clarity, it’s a risky investment, or simply a strategy of hope. Luckily, there’s an emerging characteristic that can help you practically spot and develop those with leadership potential. So, let’s dive in.

LEARN something.

Intuitively, it feels right to invest in future leaders who will take on the mantle and drive success into the future. But the real challenge is, how do you know who to invest in, and who truly has leadership potential? Too often, potential gets confused with high performance or strong technical skills. Yet we all know that neither of those translate into effective people leadership. Larger organisations use competency frameworks focused on skills like emotional intelligence and communication. That is a step forward, but in practice many frameworks become outdated, turn into theoretical checklists, and are not realistic for smaller businesses that lack the time and resources to build and manage frameworks. Plus, how do we even know what we need for the future when we’re still coming to grips with the current environment of hybrid work, five working generations, rapid job-hopping, and AI disrupting almost everything right now?

Well, there is good news for the practical and pragmatic leaders and organisations out there who are looking to grow their future leaders. Recent leadership studies highlight one clear predictor of leadership potential that’s starting to stand out, which applies across industries and leadership levels: Applied Learning. This is the ability to take new insights and put them to work in the real world. It requires the right mindset, adapting to ambiguity, and learning your way out of a tough spot. Now, let’s be clear, we are not talking about learners who never apply their knowledge, or the modern “development junkies.” Instead, we are talking about doers who have the ability to learn. There is a subtle difference. Anyone can learn and know things or recite sound bites and quotes, but the real test is whether they can take that learning, critically analyse it, translate it, and achieve tangible results. In practice, that means working with their teams, peers, customers, stakeholders, senior leaders, and business systems. Show me a person who can do that, and I will show you someone who has leadership potential.

REFLECT on an idea.

It’s a good reminder that you can’t figure out leadership; you have to engage in it and practice it, so you grow into it through action. We become leaders by doing. So why wouldn’t we do the same when identifying and developing leaders?

SMILE a little.

I’ve met two kinds of leaders: the ‘thought leaders’ who quote the books and have all the answers, and the ones who come in after them and quietly sort out the mess. Guess which one I’m following? 😉

DO IT to get results.

Later in my career (being a tad wiser), when someone showed leadership potential or came to me with an ambition to step up, we seldom talked about training or courses. Instead, we talked about what they could do. Something that pushed them outside their knowledge and comfort zone, where they’d have to learn on their own initiative and deliver real results. Success or failure didn’t matter, as long as they could reflect on the learning experience. If they could do that, I knew they were worth investing in. Try it in your context and you’ll quickly see who has potential and who’s just a “development junkie” collecting qualifications, certificates, and badges!