5 strategies for identifying strong leadership

Finding successful strategies for identifying strong leaders in the workplace is a complicated task. While many workers may be exemplary at performing a specific role, doing a job well isn’t necessarily a surefire sign that he or she will be able to adeptly manage others or take on more wide-ranging responsibilities. In other cases, multiple candidates may all seem ready for advancement, and truly deciding which person is most deserving presents a challenge. No matter the situation, businesses rely on leaders to bring workers together and accomplish difficult projects. Hence, finding the right person for the job is imperative. Here are five strategies for identifying strong leadership:

1. Look for engagement 
Inc. notes that one way to identify leaders is by how they engage in meetings and other collaborative settings. Whereas many workers may feel that a meeting takes time away from their other projects or focus intently on a laptop screen while others are talking, strong leaders make a point of engaging with other people in the room. Apt leaders will want to listen and understand what others are saying during the course of the meeting and make a point of adding their own input and ideas.

2. Provide opportunities for leaders to thrive 
Determining a worker’s leadership potential can be especially challenging if he or she is not exposed to opportunities to work with others or showcase initiative throughout the course of his or her day-to-day job. Moreover, when determining who is fit for executive positions, it can be hard to know if candidates have a broad enough range of experience to encompass all the aspects of the job. Using a business simulation or team assessment exercise may help to separate who can lead a team confidently and who falters under the pressure.

3. Make note of how a person fails 
Failures can reveal a lot about a person’s ability to lead confidently. Whereas many workers may get discouraged or freeze in the face of failure, leaders not only actively take responsibility for shortcomings, but also immediately seek out ways to improve in the future. In other words, strong leaders won’t dwell on mistakes that can’t be changed, they’ll extract useful takeaways and move forward.

4. Pay attention to communication 
According to Forbes, successful leaders are able to articulately communicate performance expectations on a regular basis. This means that a good leader will continually help keep his or her teammates working toward specific goals. When tasked to accomplish a major project, strong leaders will work with others collaboratively and individually to ensure that the proper steps are being taken to succeed on a given timeline. Making sure all the pieces come together punctually can be a challenge for any team, but a leader will be able to see the big picture and cohesively ensure the team reaches its goal.

5. Seek out positivity 
There are numerous reasons people desire leadership positions. For some, as trite as it sounds, it’s the draw of money or power. Yet, strong leaders will genuinely enjoy working with others and creating a positive impact on their enterprise. Leaders are not focused on benefiting themselves, but rather look to use their position to help others and better an organization overall. This general positivity is easy to spot when it is genuine. Leadership can be seen in the way a person works with others, focuses on accomplishing tasks and presents an energetic and amicable attitude in the workplace.