Send to KindleHigh Performers as Leaders?
Do you have high performers in your organization? Are they going to be your next leaders? Often more senior leaders look to the highest performing workers to fill leadership positions. I’ve even heard some state that they just don’t have time to go looking for future leaders that don’t stand out. That makes sense: to a point.
There’s more to leadership development than just picking someone who stands out. Every organization should have at least a rudimentary process for vetting leadership candidates. If you’re concentrating on individuals that stand out; your high performers, here are two questions you should consider.
Is the worker who stands out really a high performer or just loud? Assure yourself that the worker really is doing great work and not just making it appear they are. We’ve probably all experienced the worker who manages to benefit from the work of others. They look like a high performer, but they’re really just a good talker.
If the person is a high performer, does that mean they will be a good leader? More than one very successful technician has failed in a leadership role. No matter how impressed you are with the individual, you still need to have a process to ensure the person will be a good leadership candidate.
Selecting your next leaders is a critical task. Taking shortcuts is a bad idea. It’s important to have a process for selecting leaders. The time to find out that a high performer will not make a good leader is before they are in that position, rather than after they’ve messed things up.
