What Employers Look for in Future Leaders

I chose to review an article from forbes.com, the title of the news article that I reviewed is “what employers look for in future leaders” written by Michelle Riklan. This article explained the key skills and qualities employers look for in future leaders. I picked this article for a couple of reasons, the first reason is that I consider myself a leader and this grabbed my attention. The second reason is that I wanted to compare my qualities to the ones presented in this article and see areas that I need to improve/maintain. There are a total of eight key expectations employers look for Riklan explained, Potential over performance, commitment to the company, Initiative and Self-Direction, Ability to learn, fearless decision makers, excelling in uncomfortable environments and stretching goals, seeking collaborative feedback and team building. I will be diving into these key expectations that resemble a great leader.

The first expectation is Potential over performance, Riklan explained that employees who exceed in their position don’t always possess the skills necessary to be a great leader. She went on to explain that recognizing potential depends on what your companies priorities are. It is more important that you have a way to distinguish these priorities Riklan explained. She quoted “Anthony Abbatiello, Principal of Deloitte Consulting LLP and Global Leader of Deloitte Leadership and he said, "Deloitte focuses on four factors of potential, which are innate and hard-wired to the person.” These factors are “people, intellectual, change and motivational potential” (Riklan). Riklan went on to explain that an employer needs to dig into the candidate’s personal life and or possibly conduct a behavioral interview. We discussed in chapter 11 that a good manager introduces employees to new opportunities if they have outstanding potential. The second expectation is a commitment to the company, Riklan explained that there are many employees that go through the motions and do good enough to keep their status in the organization.

However, there are employees that genuinely care about the organization’s future. These employees are very valuable Riklan explained and their careers should be invested upon as well as their training to ensure their feeling of belonging. It is crucial to keep these types of employees Riklan explained because they could possibly seek other job opportunities. We had discussed in chapter 11 that with organizational commitment comes higher job satisfaction performance, turnover, and organizational citizenship behavior. We had also discussed in chapter 10 that organizational commitment is an absolute must when it comes to being a top manager.

The third expectation is Initiative and self-direction, Riklan emphasized that future leaders do beyond what is expected of them. Matt Moog the CEO of power reviews ads claimed that “High potential employees go beyond what’s asked of them. They solve problems, create opportunities, and improve the efficiency of their own functional area” (Riklan). It makes perfect sense that a great leader would genuinely care about the organization, by caring they possess the drive to go beyond what is expected of them. We had discussed in chapter 11 that with a proactive personality comes initiative, taking initiative is vital when being a top manager. The fourth expectation is the Ability to learn, Riklan explained that being able to comprehend information at a fast pace is essential for great leadership. As we discussed in class the business world is changing constantly and being adaptable to external forces is extremely important when leading.

Technology is constantly changing, change is inevitable so a great leader must possess it. This goes back to chapter six when we had talked about the SWOT analysis, being able to scan internal and external factors and an efficient pace can make an effective leader. The fifth expectation is a fearless decision maker, Riklan quoted Jill Larsen, SVP of HR at Cisco, Larsen stated that her company “looks for leaders who aren’t afraid of taking risks” (Riklan).

As we discussed in class with a changing world being able to take risks and come out on top can be crucial for an organization sometimes the risk is even inevitable in certain situations. I could struggle in this expectation due to being an analytical thinker, I tend to play it safe which might be harmful to an organization that I work for in the future. The sixth Expectation is excelling in uncomfortable environments and stretching goals.

Riklan explained that new environments and stretching an employee’s goals will help them grow more than just moving them up the corporate level. By putting an employee out of their comfort zone employees will be challenged an employer can then analyze them on the types of questions they ask, and what type of adjustments they make in this new environment. Riklan emphasizes that “the outcome isn’t as important as the process. Of course, meeting the metrics increases the employees appeal as a future leader, but attempts to game the system is a bad sign” (Riklan). We had talked about self-perception in chapter 11, being able to understand your new role and your new environment and being able to interpret what is going is very important not only in a leadership position but in any employees position. The seventh expectation is collaborative feedback seeking, this expectation is self-explanatory but Riklan explained that these candidates who are pursuing leadership positions need to be seeking both negative and positive feedback in their line of work. They must respect these opinions but more importantly take every opinion into account. In chapter seven we had discussed that a way to improve your intuition is to seek feedback. We had also discussed in chapter eight that when fitting into an organizations culture seeking feedback can help you mold into that culture.

The eighth and final expectation is being a team builder, Riklan stated that “A team’s diverse opinions, skill sets, and backgrounds don’t hinder a true leader. It’s an asset that lends agility to the group. As a result, employees love working with them” (Riklan). She went on to explain that a way to find out if their team potential is to find out how many employees worked with this candidate or an extended amount of time.

Also, reference checks are helpful in finding out if they are easy to work with. Now that we understand all eight expectations and have gone into depth with these concepts what expectations do you think you possess? What expectations do you think are the most important for a potential leader? I think being able to interpret information quickly and being able to analyze external and internal factors is one of the most important skills one needs to possess when put in a leader’s position. I think being adaptable and being able to form to a different environment is extremely important when it comes to the transition of such an important role.

Part of this transition is seeking feedback to help gain insight into your organization's culture, therefore, being able to form even more effectively to the culture. Now that you understand these expectations do you think you have the skills necessary to potentially pursue a career in top-level management?