Identifying Emerging Leaders

Looking Beyond Performance Alone

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." — John F. Kennedy

What You'll Learn

• Why promoting your best doer without preparation sets them up to struggle

• The fundamental mindset shift from task completion to people development

• Five indicators that reveal leadership potential

• How to spot emerging leaders at every level of your organization

• Why developing leaders early prevents leadership shortages later

Your top performer just submitted another flawless project. They're reliable, efficient, and consistently exceed expectations.

So naturally, they should be your next leader, right?

Maybe. But only if you're prepared to help them make the most difficult transition in their career: from getting things done themselves to growing people who get things done.

Here's what typically happens: You promote your best doer. They bring the same mindset that made them successful—execute flawlessly, control quality, deliver results personally. But now their job has completely changed, and nobody told them.

They're still trying to win by being the best doer when their new job is to build the best team.

They work harder, put in longer hours, jump in to fix things, and wonder why they're exhausted while their team seems disengaged. They start thinking: "Maybe I'm just not cut out for leadership."

But the truth is simpler: They're trying to lead through task completion instead of capacity building. And nobody helped them see that their job fundamentally changed.

The Shift Nobody Prepares Them For

When you promote someone into leadership, you're asking them to:

Stop: Being the person who solves every problem

Start: Being the person who develops problem-solvers

Stop: Proving their value through their own output

Start: Proving their value through their team's output

Stop: Relying on skills that made them successful

Start: Developing completely new skills they've never needed

This is terrifying. Everything that gave them confidence—their technical expertise, their ability to deliver, their track record—suddenly matters less than skills they're still developing: coaching, delegation, having difficult conversations, holding people accountable, building culture.

No wonder they struggle. You've changed their job entirely and expected them to figure it out.

Performance vs. Leadership Potential

So let's clarify what to look for:

Performance Potential = Ability to execute work at increasingly complex levels themselves

Leadership Potential = Ability to grow capacity in others so work gets done through them

Someone can be brilliant at execution without having developed the mindset or skills to build capacity in others. That doesn't make them a bad person or a failed leader—it means they need support making a massive career transition.

The mistake: Promoting based solely on performance and assuming the leadership mindset will develop automatically.

The solution: Assess for leadership potential early, promote with preparation, and support the transition intentionally.

The Five Indicators of Leadership Potential

Here's what reveals someone might be ready for the transition—or at least willing to develop in that direction:

1. They Help Others Succeed Naturally

Watch for people who:

• Explain things clearly to colleagues without being asked

• Celebrate others' wins authentically

• Share credit generously

• Get satisfaction from helping teammates grow

These behaviors reveal a capacity-building mindset is already emerging.

2. They See Systems, Not Just Their Tasks

Emerging leaders think beyond their immediate work.

They ask:

• "How does this connect to our larger goals?"

• "What impact will this have on other teams?"

• "How could we improve this process for everyone?"

They're already thinking about the whole, not just their part.

3. They Influence Without Needing Authority

Leadership potential shows up before the title.

Look for people who:

• Shape conversations and decisions in meetings

• Rally others around ideas

• Resolve conflicts between peers

• Earn respect through contribution

If they can influence without formal power, they're demonstrating readiness to use it well.

4. They Actively Pursue Growth

Emerging leaders are characterized by learning orientation.

They:

• Ask for feedback and apply it

• Acknowledge mistakes without defensiveness

• Seek stretch assignments voluntarily

• Show curiosity about leadership

They're not waiting for development—they're pursuing it. This suggests they'll do the hard work of the leadership transition.

5. They Handle Discomfort With Resilience

Here's what matters most: How do they respond when things feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar?

Leadership requires living in discomfort—having conversations you don't want to have, delegating when you could do it faster, watching people struggle so they learn, holding people accountable when relationships feel at risk.

Watch how people handle situations where they don't have all the answers:

• Do they avoid or engage?

• Do they blame or problem-solve?

• Do they shut down or stay curious?

Resilience in discomfort predicts leadership success more than technical brilliance.

The Assessment Framework

When evaluating leadership potential, ask:

Are they building capacity in others?

• Do they help teammates succeed?

• Do they share knowledge freely?

• Do they get satisfaction from others' growth?

Are they thinking systemically?

• Do they see beyond their role?

• Do they consider impact on others?

• Do they propose improvements that serve the whole?

Can they influence without authority?

• Do people listen when they speak?

• Can they rally others around ideas?

• Do they resolve conflicts constructively?

Are they pursuing growth actively?

• Do they seek feedback and apply it?

• Do they admit what they don't know?

• Are they curious about leadership?

Can they handle discomfort?

• Do they engage with difficult conversations?

• Do they stay curious when they don't have answers?

• Do they problem-solve when things feel uncertain?

If someone demonstrates most of these, they have leadership potential. But they still need preparation for the transition.

How to Set Them Up for Success

When you identify someone with leadership potential:

1. Name the shift explicitly

"Your job is about to change completely. You won't be successful by being the best doer anymore. You'll be successful by growing the best team. That's uncomfortable at first."

2. Normalize the discomfort

"Every great leader struggled with this transition. Feeling uncertain doesn't mean you're failing—it means you're learning something new."

3. Provide support structures

• Regular coaching on the leadership mindset

• Peer cohorts with other new leaders

• Clear expectations about what success looks like now

• Permission to delegate and develop, not just do

4. Teach the new skills explicitly

• How to have developmental 1-on-1s (remember Week 2?)

• How to delegate for development, not just task completion

• How to coach instead of solve

• How to hold people accountable supportively

5. Check in on the transition

"Are you still trying to win by doing, or are you winning by developing? What feels uncomfortable right now? That discomfort is probably the growth edge."

The Practice This Week

Identify three people with leadership potential.

For each person, assess:

1. Which of the five indicators do they demonstrate?

2. Are they ready for the leadership transition, or do they need development first?

3. If promoted today, what support would they need to make the mindset shift?

Then choose one action:

• Have a conversation naming their potential

• Create a development opportunity that builds capacity-building skills

• Connect them with a mentor who can guide the transition

Why This Matters for Everyone

If you're an individual contributor: Understanding these indicators helps you develop leadership capacity now, so the transition is easier if you choose it later.

If you're a manager: Spotting potential early and preparing people for the transition prevents the struggle of promoting unprepared super-doers.

If you're a senior leader: Building a leadership pipeline means developing people before you desperately need them, and supporting them through the transition.

When you help people make the shift from doing to developing, you create leaders who thrive instead of leaders who struggle and blame themselves.

The hardest moment in many careers isn't getting promoted—it's realizing your job completely changed and you're still trying to succeed the old way.

You're not a bad leader because you want to jump in and fix things. You're just trying to lead by doing what made you successful before: task completion.

But leadership requires something different: capacity building.

That shift is uncomfortable. It requires new skills. It means living with the anxiety of watching others struggle so they learn.

But it's learnable. And when organizations support the transition instead of just expecting people to figure it out, everyone wins.

Identify your emerging leaders. Name their potential. Prepare them for the shift. Support them through the discomfort.

That's how you build a leadership pipeline that doesn't break.

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