Are You Promotable? Qualities to Think About Before You Promote Your Next Leader

I am a proponent of promoting from within and while I can think of many success stories there were a few miserable failures. I have supported the promotion of others for reasons such as tenure, and one that bitten me more than once, good performance. It is so easy to promote a team member who is smart and performs their job consistently well. But, the question to ask oneself is "Are they ready for a leadership role?" Depending on their character they may never be right for such a role.

I don't even want to think about how many excellent service technicians I have lost because I promoted or supported a promotion that ended in a termination. Partly because we did not provide adequate training and support, but more so because they lacked in many of leadership qualities needed to be successful. Likewise there have been many other times where team members have applied for a promotion and I'm left wondering why they do not have the good sense to know they are not ready for such a promotion.

I've taken a long hard look at the leaders that were successful and those that failed and believe there are certain qualities that make the best leaders. If you are looking to promote from within or are striving to be promoted, the leadership potential qualities needed are from candidates who:

1. Are well respected by their peers and supervisor(s). Generally speaking everyone likes them. They are friendly and courteous to all never excluding any one person or group.
2. Dedicated to the overall mission and goals of the company.
3. Are not afraid to work hard or put in extra hours when needed. They don't leave at noon to take lunch or at 5:00 p.m. to call it day. They are aware of the business activities around them and willing to complete tasks to meet deadlines or help their fellow co-workers when they can.
4. Take the initiative to get tasks done and learn new tasks. They don't wait for their supervisor to tell them what to do. They understand what needs to be done and they get it done.
5. Openly teach others what they know, offering suggestions to help meet the goals ahead.
6. Are good time managers and delegators. They can focus on tasks and work diligently to complete them. They don't have to control the outcome of every task nor are they afraid to ask for help when they need it.
7. Trust other people to take the lead and are supportive of those people even if they falter a bit.
8. Are open-minded and can understand other's points of view. They are willing to compromise for the sake of the greater good.
9. Are accepting of new responsibilities. They do not complain and prefer to seek out solutions rather than dwell on problems.
10. Are not gossipers nor are they easily swayed by the majority. They do they talk negatively about others or the company behind closed doors and they do not intentionally harm another person's spirit though their words or actions.
11. Willing to stand up for what is right. They are not afraid to speak out in the face of a wrong. I cannot tell those of you reading this post how many times in my career I have asked someone why they did not come forward with critical information sooner and the typical response is something like "Well, I did not want to get fired ." We'll here is a message for those of you who think this way. If a supervisor or company is going to fire you for doing the right thing, then you should not work for him/her or that company.
12. Are emotionally strong enough to handle disgruntled or problematic employees and terminate. If your candidate does not easily recognize why dishonesty, a poor attitude and/or poor performance should not result in termination, then he/she should never and I mean never become a leader. One needs to be able to confront problems head on and deal with people who have made a mistake, intentionally or unintentionally in a professional and timely manner. Part of a leader's job is to maintain a harmonious team environment.
13. Humble. They clearly see and admit their own limitations and failings and seek to improve in those areas. Good leaders don't think they're great. They are instead always striving for greatness.
14. Honest and forthright in their convictions.
15. Can listen to tough feedback and or receive bad news without overreacting.

If you or your candidate fits most these criteria, then you or they are most likely a good fit for a leadership role. If your decision is questionable and one really wants to give an opportunity to another, don't take the leap right away. Instead give them a leadership role on a complex project that affects other team members and analyze the results before you make your final decision.

For more articles by Gabriele Preston, go to http://www.multifamilymanagementconsultants.com