Your company is growing rapidly which is exactly what you’ve been hoping for and working towards. The market is responding to your business and things are actually moving quicker than you were prepared for. When you were a startup that looked like a startup you were able to oversee everything that was going on, but now it’s getting bigger than you can handle on your own. Instead of looking for new voices and new ideas from the outside, consider promoting from within. But how do you identify the right people to promote? Here’s a few ideas for the best way to identify leadership qualities of those already within your company.
Reward Adaptability
The rapid growth of your company, while good news, can also be a scary time. Not only are you having to change policies and procedures to keep up with your new increased demand, but you’re trying to find a way to keep up with everything happening as quickly as it’s happening. The increased demands on your business will inevitably cause you to increase demands on employees. Take special note of the men or women who respond the best to this increase in responsibility. If you have someone who had always been good with doing a particular task, but now they have stepped up and are handling 2 or 3 additional tasks equally as well, you have a potential leader in front of you.
Who Has Bought In?
No, this doesn’t mean who has financially invested within your business. Rather, you need to spend time monitoring who has bought in to the vision that you have launched for your company. The culture that you have created is a large reason for your success, so you want to protect it. One way to do so is to find people who have clearly bought in to your vision and culture. Be prepared to promote them into leadership since they’re already promoting your vision.
Effective Communication
Ultimately, leadership is about communication. If you have an employee is who is an obviously gifted communicator, consider him or her for a promotion. Great leaders communicate to those they lead, as well as those who still lead them. They are the people who can sustain your company’s recent growth.
Congratulations on the success of your company. Hopefully you are surrounded by people who are ready to help you carry it into the future.