IT’S A good idea to fill leadership positions in your firm with promotions. That way, the professionals occupying these positions can know what’s expected of them and better establish business continuity after their appointment.
Done properly, preparing the future leaders of your firm is a task that can take years. The signs of their aptitude and competency should be evident early on. The best leaders are self-refective and earn the trust of their team, and those qualities can be nurtured before the internal promotion takes place.
What are the specifics of preparing future leaders in your firm? Read on after the jump to find out.
Develop a Mentoring Programme
Leaders should prepare future leaders. Good and bad experiences of mentors will supply them with many teachable moments and sage advice.
These dynamics may not always develop naturally, so you must give existing leaders a nudge to mentor the next generation of talent. Setting up a formal programme is likely the best approach, enabling all parties to schedule their correspondence and structure their progression together. It also openly builds a culture of learning and support within your business.
Try to give your mentors proper training to nurture talent more effectively. Evaluate if the mentees bring what they’ve learned to their job role and if they’re enthusiastic about further engagement. You could also invite feedback from both parties about the overall experience and make tweaks and adjustments as you go.
Explore External Learning Opportunities
Not all learning about leadership comes from within the business. There are many external learning opportunities to speak of too.
Sign your workers up for various online training courses from reputable providers. iHASCO provides those centred around soft skills, compliance, HR, and health & safety, and business leaders should know the inner workings of it all. These video-based online courses are compatible with any device, so request a quote or get started for free today.
Diversifying your worker’s approach to external learning opportunities is a good idea. They should attend industry conferences where they can engage with the latest news in their sector or be exposed to the ideas and innovations of peers and competitors. Much inspiration can be derived from these experiences, preparing future leaders by exposing them to the future of their working world.
Encourage Further Proactivity
Some workers only perform the job they are paid to do. While technically not doing anything wrong, few professionals can reach leadership status by doing the bare minimum.
There’s much debate surrounding the notion of ‘quiet quitting’, which refers to workers who don’t engage with extracurriculars or volunteer for additional responsibilities. There’s also evidence for inequalities in this area, with women more often requested to deal with hassle clients, monitor employee birthdays, and plan all the parties.
Quality business leaders won’t rise to the occasion if there are inequalities at play, and they won’t feel motivated to do extra work if they’re forced to. These optional responsibilities should be warmly advertised to all workers, and they should go the extra mile because they want to. That way, you can offer some light encouragement as they build their work ethic independently, and eventually, you’ll have a future leader who is self-sufficient, influential, and resourceful. Trust them to facilitate their own progress.
