How to Identify a True Leader

How to identify a true leader

While you can always hire an external candidate to lead your team, developing your current employees into your business leaders of tomorrow is wise. Here are five steps to identify a true leader in your organization.

1. Observe their character and work ethic.

Before deciding if someone is fit for a leadership role, you must determine what you want in a leader. You need to know what characteristics and work ethic you want your company leaders to have. From that point, you can begin to observe which of those qualities you see in the workplace and seek out potential leaders. 

“The [question I ask] is ‘Do people follow you?’ While that might be an oversimplification, I think we see many instances of people that occupy ‘leadership positions’ but aren’t real leaders,” said Michael Lopez, a leadership and business coach.

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True leaders are the ones driving results. They intentionally learn more, challenge themselves and others, improve the workplace environment and work ethics, and encourage teams to achieve goals.

2. Provide opportunities in the workplace for leadership skills to emerge.

One of the most accurate ways to test a person’s leadership skills is to put them in a leadership role. This could include mentoring and coaching, or even allowing them to experience a higher position. Having them try new experiences in different roles allows you to gauge how they go about learning, if they have a growth mindset, and whether they do well under pressure and with additional responsibilities.

“Great organizations build leaders that build other leaders,” Lopez said. “The apprenticeship model remains, in my view, the most powerful leadership training ground there is. Future leaders must learn by watching other leaders and then by working in progressively more complex leadership situations themselves.

3. Ask around.

The people who have worked side by side with potential leaders will have great insights into their skills and impact on the business. Interviewing co-workers gives you additional feedback on whether an employee has the personality and leadership style you’re looking for.

“Leading is, at the end of the day, about people,” Lopez said. “A leader is someone that can rally the hearts and minds of others to bring out the collective best in them. Empathy allows the leader to understand the experience of those people.”

Interviewing previous managers or mentors of potential leaders also helps determine whether this person is a good leader. They are in a unique position because not only do they have leadership experience, but they also have experience with the potential leader.

4. Use predictive assessment tools and personality assessments.

Assessment tools vary in terms of what they examine and the depth of the questions they ask. You can choose from personality, leadership skills and behavioral assessments. Before you decide on a tool, ensure it will test for the specific skills you want in a leader.

“The best leaders know themselves, understand others, and are reliable. They are calm under pressure and do what they say they will,” said Raviraj Hegde, SVP of Growth at Donorbox. “It is not about shouting or giving orders; it’s about understanding others and taking responsibility.”

Here are a few assessment tools you can use:

• The Predictive Index assessment tool evaluates individual workplace behavioral traits and cognitive abilities to aid in making informed talent management decisions.
• NERIS Type Explorer determines personality type and shows optimal roles (careers and hobbies) and strategies (ways of achieving goals) for each.
• CliftonStrengths Assessment provides insights into an individual’s strengths in terms of executing, influencing, relationship building and strategic thinking.

5. Search for evidence of emotional intelligence.

One of the most essential qualities a leader can have is emotional intelligence. At its heart, emotional intelligence is a person’s ability to authentically be themselves and put their character on full display. This helps them address emotionally charged matters at work. While it might be easier to ignore the drama, doing so can lead to future problems.

“Personality traits of good leaders often include empathy, resilience, humility, and integrity,” said Lisa Birnbaum, LCSW and co-founder of Strengths Squared. “Empathy allows leaders to understand and respond to their team’s needs, while resilience helps them navigate challenges. Humility keeps them open to learning and improvement, and integrity ensures they act ethically.”

People with high emotional intelligence are exceptionally self-aware and intrinsically motivated to do the right thing. They can carefully assess a situation from all sides, and then clearly communicate their feelings or points in a calm and collected manner. These traits are essential for leadership, as they can help with people management and conflict resolution.

Leadership skills you should be testing for

A good leader combines certain tangible skills alongside more intangible characteristics. Often, this involves bringing people together and generating buy-in, meaning leaders have to be good at understanding what their teams need. 

“A good leader often demonstrates emotional intelligence, the ability to create trust and accountability,” Birnbaum said. “Behaviors include clear communication, fairness in decision-making and adaptability under pressure. They empower their teams by delegating effectively and creating an environment where feedback is taken in a positive way.”

Here are some leadership skills you should keep testing for in yourself and your employees and candidates.

• Communication skills: One of the most essential responsibilities of a leader is to relay information effectively to employees, senior management and the public. An organization can only accomplish its mission if the correct information is transmitted to the right people.

• Relationship building: Leaders must have the ability to foster relationships with their employees and among clients. Good relations inspire a team to be more productive. Employees are more willing to go the extra mile for an organization that appreciates them. Clients are loyal to companies they have built a relationship with and that make them feel valued. [Read related article: Your Employees Feel Underappreciated — Here’s What You Can Do to Fix It]
• Time management: Leaders are responsible for making certain the organization derives value from the time allocated to accomplish business tasks. A leader must make sure team members clock in to work at the right time and accomplish the tasks they are required to do within that time.
• Adaptability: Leaders must be adaptable in today’s rapidly changing business landscape. They should be able to pivot, make quick decisions and effectively lead their teams through change.
• Trustworthiness: Leaders must build trust with their employees. This can be achieved by being honest and working with integrity. When employees trust their leaders, they engage with them more freely and give necessary feedback without fear of being victimized.
• Confidence: Leaders must be confident in their decisions. This inspires trust in others and helps leaders to present themselves and their company well. Confidence also speaks to a person’s decisiveness. Leadership often involves making difficult and important decisions.
• Problem-solving: Every leader must know how to solve employee- or company-related problems because they will arise frequently. Companies solve problems for consumers, but they must also be able to solve their internal problems. When an employee comes to a leader with an issue, a leader should be able to help them solve it in a way that benefits both the employee and the organization.

Although you want your company leaders to possess these traits, it’s important not to immediately write a potential leader off if they are lacking in one or two areas. Instead, look for ways to help that employee grow and develop their weaker skills. Empowering your employees to grow with your organization is a great way to build your company’s future leaders.

Additionally, an important part of identifying and developing leaders is to create a plan for employee progression within your business. Succession planning ensures a smooth transition when your current leaders are ready to retire or move on.

Tejas Vemparala and Skye Schooley contributed to this article.