Helping future leaders excel in your business
Many businesses prefer to hire from within.
The practice of filling vacancies through promoting employees has several benefits.
These include the advantage of having someone who already knows your business inside and out.
Internal promotions are also often cost effective and the prospect of them can motivate employees.
But not every internal hire works out. It’s important to properly prepare employees for a promotion into a new role and ensure they can tackle it successfully.
This article will look at how to ease the transition into management for potential leaders within your organisation.
Spot potential leaders early
The earlier in their careers you can identify candidates who might make good leaders in the future, the better placed you will be to help them on that journey. There may be some who excel in their roles but might struggle higher up the company. Equally, there are some managers out there who wouldn’t last a day on the shop floor!
Employees that can solve problems, work effectively with a wide range of people, and adapt to different situations are likely to have a good base skill set for becoming a potential leader in the future.
Cultivate an interest in leading
Your employees will have a wide range of motivations, aspirations, and career paths. Not everyone is cut out for leadership and that’s ok! Some people are just there for a paycheque, while others might go above and beyond to advance their careers.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming that every high-performing employee wants to move into management. Some might prefer the technical or customer-facing roles they currently have.
Those that do want to move into leadership positions are likely to be far more receptive to the other steps in this process!
Offer management training
Even the best potential managers might not naturally have all the skills it takes to succeed. Management can be difficult without proper training. In particular, seek out courses that guide them through realistic real-world situations that they might face within your company.
While these sort of courses offer require significant upfront investment, they are a justifiable expense if it helps you avoid having to make a costly external hire.
Connect them with a mentor
Pairing high-potential employees with more experienced mentors can be a great way to further their development. Giving them someone they can go to with questions, and who can offer advice outside of the hierarchy of your own relationship with them, can be invaluable.
Hone their communication skills
Communication is among the most important skills that successful leaders need. And internal hires may find that they have even more need for it as they manage the transition from colleague to manager.
It isn’t always easy for employees to accept someone that was once at their level as their new supervisor. As such, transparent and clear communication is essential during the process.
Consider a gradual transition
Rather than throwing a new leader straight in at the deep end, a slower transition can be a good way for them to hone their skills under supervision as they build up towards their new role.
An incremental increase in their responsibilities can be a great way to practice new skills and build their confidence as they work towards their new role. For instance, assigning a time-off manager to help you handle leave requests can be a great first step, and it’s easy with Findmyshift.
Encourage collaboration
Working alongside earmarked employees can be the perfect way to help them understand the process and identify their strengths and weaknesses up close. Giving them a small project to run under your supervision can show you how they’d approach it without the risk of handing over all your day to day operations before they’re ready.
Follow these steps and your future leaders will have the best chance of making the transition upwards within your business, benefiting you and them together.