As a two-time CHRO turned CEO, I know this to be true: Identifying and nurturing future leaders can’t be left to chance.
Intentional talent and leadership development needs to be an integral part of your business strategy and culture. Without enabled, purposeful leaders, organizations lack resiliency and readiness for the future.
According to SHRM’s 2025 CHRO Priorities and Perspectives report, over one-third of CHROs (37%) say that developing succession plans is a significant challenge across their organization. This challenge often stems from a deeper issue: 42% of managers believe that internal talent development is neglected at their organizations, according to TalentLMS. When companies overlook the growth of their own people, they limit their leadership pipeline and make effective succession planning even harder.
Just as concerning, 43% say their companies hire new managers instead of developing them internally. Even when companies do promote from within, outdated systems often get in the way. Too many still rely on first impressions, gut feelings, or legacy-based promotional models to identify high-potential leaders.
By establishing clear leadership potential benchmarks and implementing more objective, measurable processes, we can discover and develop talent hidden in plain sight.
Spotting Leadership Potential
When I think about leadership potential, I try to look beyond the resume and focus on substance over shine; it’s about who embodies the skills, traits, principles, and values our organizations need for the future.
Over the years, aside from expertise, I’ve learned to look for the following traits in future leaders:
- Curiosity: Are they curious about what they’re doing and eager to improve? Constant learning drives innovation and better business outcomes.
- Influence and drive for change: Even if they aren’t leaders yet, do others turn to them for advice and expertise? Do they push for meaningful results in their work?
- Resilience: How do they handle change? Agility and adaptability to new situations and challenges are invaluable in a leader.
- Courage and conviction: Do they speak honestly, admit mistakes, and approach a lack of knowledge as a learning opportunity?
With these traits in mind, I look past titles and tenure to behaviors that make successful leaders. But spotting leadership potential is only the first step. Organizations also need to broaden who gets access to development opportunities and support their development, empowering growth and building dynamic career paths that align with both business and individual aspirations.
Practicing Inclusive Leadership Development
Increasingly, candidates encounter criteria like a “minimum of two years experience” for roles that are ostensibly entry-level. I’d challenge organizations to recognize their responsibility to develop future leaders by investing in the growth of high-potential talent, rather than relying solely on prior experience.
We must grow the next wave of leaders, from the backpack to the boardroom – building an inclusive leadership pipeline that ensures diverse perspectives and equitable access to opportunities. Opening leadership development to non-managers can have an enormous impact on a business.
For example, I’ve seen success with programs designed for new leaders (zero to five years in leadership) focused on developing readiness in emerging leaders and panel interviews that bring multiple points of view to evaluations. Some companies even have calibration sessions where leaders assess and align talent across the entire organization. This approach helps create a more balanced picture of leadership potential and reduces bias.
When it comes to leadership readiness, I look at what these employees have demonstrated in current and past roles, including performance, core competencies, and growth propensity.
Sometimes, a candidate will have 80% proven ability and 20% potential. The last 20% might not emerge until you put a potential leader in the right role and support their development.
5 Ways to Develop Leaders for the Future
The key to developing future leaders within your organization is creating an environment where you can start assessing them early and often. Here are a few strategies I’ve found effective:
Leadership academies: Opening a “new leaders” academy allows you to develop high-potential talent right at the beginning of their leadership journey.
Cross-functional projects: Bringing together people at all experience levels highlights individual strengths, sparks collaboration, and provides valuable feedback.
Shadowing programs: Emerging leaders can shadow seasoned ones to experience senior leadership firsthand.
Mentorship and coaching: Whether it’s peer-to-peer or senior-to-junior, a good mentor can help coach and guide a leader toward pursuing their aspirations.
Immersive stretch assignments: This is my personal favorite. Growth opportunities like this push people outside their comfort zones to leverage strengths, recognize weaknesses, and drive change. About 15 years ago, GE tested my leadership in a challenging new role: head of HR for Sub-Saharan Africa. With no existing relationships, I had to quickly build influence and trust from the ground up.
That stretch assignment has been one of the highlights of my personal and professional life, and one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It helped me to become the leader I am today. Opportunities to experience new things, explore, and excel can be transformative for emerging leaders.
Set Your Future Leaders Up for Success
Your organization likely already has great leadership potential; you just may not know it yet. Now is the time to assess your promotion models and leadership development processes.
Start by examining how you assess leadership potential and readiness. Look for gaps, strengths, and new opportunities in your pipeline. Then invest in programs that transform your talent into capable, confident leaders.
The leaders your business needs for the future may already be on your team. It’s time to help them rise. Because the resilience of tomorrow’s workforce depends on the decisions you make and the development you implement today.
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