Gary Hamel’s “Nine Ways to Identify Natural Leaders” provides some insight into the age old question “How do you identify leaders?”
“The need to empower natural leaders isn’t an HR pipedream, it’s a competitive imperative. But before you can empower them, you have to find them. In most companies, the formal hierarchy is a matter of public record—it’s easy to discover who’s in charge of what. By contrast, natural leaders don’t appear on any organization chart. To hunt them down, you need to know . . .
- Whose advice is sought most often on any particular topic?
- Who responds most promptly to requests from peers?
- Whose responses are judged most helpful?
- Who is most likely to reach across organizational boundaries to aid a colleague?
- Whose opinions are most valued, internally and externally?
- Who gets the most kudos from customers?
- Who’s the most densely connected to other employees?
- Who’s generating the most buzz outside the company?
- Who consistently demonstrates real thought leadership?
- Who seems truly critical to key decisions?”
This is a great list to use in your leadership search efforts. Searching and selecting natural leadership is of critical importance in today’s competitive environment. Equally important is the need to create environments in which leadership thrives. Gary Hamel goes on to note that…
“One thing’s certain, though: we can’t invent Management 2.0 without inventing some new ways for people to accumulate and exercise authority. In the tempestuous seas of today’s creative economy, top-down leadership structures are fast becoming a liability. We need is a new currency of power—one based not on titles, but on every individual’s capacity to lead, every day….
“So here are some questions to ponder: How would you find the natural leaders in your company? And once found, how would you help them expand their influence? Can you imagine other alternatives to traditional power structures? If so, what might they be?”
Technorati Tags: Leadership, Selection, HR, Talent, Management, Business, Checklist
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You also need to be careful, the problem with key employees begins the very second you publicly identify someone as such.
Thanks for recapping the list George. Hamel provides a useful list of places to look for leaders. The development of the next generation of leaders may be one of the most important traits of a leader.
One challenge firms are having with Management 2.0 when they begin exploring new “currencies of power” is how employees communicate their progress to the outside world. It turns out folks still like to say they’ve been promoted to “the next level”.