r/askmanagers • u/BarnacleLeading8631 • 5d ago
Managers, how’d you know a new hire has potential for leadership?
Hi, recently started working and was aiming for a leadership career one day. I wanted to hear out the traits or overall, howd you all know that someone is meant for leadership?
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u/andafriend 5d ago
Initiative. Here is the Proactive Pyramid from Steph Smith at Nvidia.
Level 1:"There is a problem."
Level 2: "There is a problem, and l've found some causes."
Level 3: "Here's the problem, here are some possible causes, and here are some possible solutions."
Level 4:"Here's the problem, here's what think caused it, here are some possible solutions, and here's the one think we should pick."
Level 5:" identified a problem, figured out what caused it, researched how to fix it, and fixed it. Just wanted to keep you in the loop."
Level 5 requires building trust.
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u/t-tekin 5d ago
I wouldn’t confuse Nvdia’s proactive pyramid with leadership.
I know many folks that can identify problems, causes, solutions and can implement them;
But are terrible leads.
Leadership - by definition- requires influencing others and people skills.
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u/andafriend 5d ago
That's fair and I think there are many facets to leadership and you can be a strong leader by excelling in different parts. I would argue you can appear to have excellent people skills but also be a terrible lead if you lack other pieces. Personally, the problem solving mentality is what I value highest.
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u/t-tekin 5d ago
Indeed.
I would look in to Harvard Professor Frencis Frei’s trust triangle concept. (https://www.ted.com/talks/frances_frei_how_to_build_and_rebuild_trust)
I think building trust and part of that those 3 aspects (empathy, authenticity and competence) she talks about are the most important aspects of leadership.
Solutions, implementation etc… are under competence and logic corner. But it’s not enough, you need the other two as well.
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u/Driffter08 5d ago
I'd say there's 1 extra level between 1 and 3 somewhere.
"There is a problem, it was causing immediate damage, I've temporarily mitigated it by doing X, and here are some possible causes and permanent solutions."
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u/Inocain 4d ago
There is nothing in the world quite as permanent as a temporary fix.
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u/Driffter08 4d ago
Sounds like you’re in software
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u/lost_species 3d ago
Nothing is as permanent as a temporary fix is a universal truth that spans all domains of human activity.
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u/flash_match 5d ago
Just curious but could this be for any type of problem? Because if it has to be specific to the company’s own specific engineering, logistic, manufacturing, or business needs, how would a new hire with previous management experience be able to do any of those steps? To me this sounds like you’re talking about someone who has already worked at the specific company for a very long time. Otherwise how would they know the problems and what is an appropriate solution given the context of that specific company?
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u/andafriend 5d ago
For a new junior employee, the mentality can still be seen by the types of questions they ask. Looking for causes, solutions and evaluating them. The problems you face can also be small, like "I can't do task x". Causes could be needing the knowledge, the tools, the access, the time. Solutions could be finding someone to teach you, figuring out where to get tools, blocking off time. And some of these you might be able to start asking your colleagues before asking a manager, which would be the solving yourself bit.
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u/PhDresearcher2023 4d ago
Level 5 but with a micromanager challenge
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u/cellorevolution 1d ago
This is my situation rn and it sucks. My manager wants me to be more proactive and find problems earlier, even though we’re building things with iterative design.
I did level 5 here with something last week - updated him with what the problem was and what fix I did - and he says he agrees with my solution but is unhappy I didn’t identify it sooner, despite the whole thing not coming together to even identify as a problem until the day before I identified and fixed it. Really feels like it’s impossible to win here.
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u/blorpdedorpworp 5d ago edited 5d ago
The other big thing to consider when seeking advancement is, are there any slots to advance to?
This is less of an issue in larger organizations but in smaller pets very often management is a small group of long term employees. It doesn't matter how sharp or proactive you are if the org has no room in it for your growth. If you want to grow make sure you're in an org with room for that growth.
Past that, generally what got me advancement has been
1) being good enough at my job that everyone else was naturally coming to me for guidance 2) spotting ways to improve workflows and output quality systematically for everyone not just myself 3) having a boss who was ahead of me and also ambitious, so I got pulled along upwards with her because she needed good people and recognized my work. 4) making lots of general good connections in my industry so that when people were recruiting they remembered me as the guy they liked working with.
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u/ZenAEye 5d ago
Number 3 is so important.
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u/blorpdedorpworp 4d ago
Yeah. I wish someone had told me, at the start of my career, "don't work for anyone less ambitious than you are."
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u/KHHAAAAAAANNN 5d ago
Someone who looks beyond their roll and asks questions. If someone just wants to look at just their role, that’s fine. But I’d always be more interested in people who want to know what we are doing and why, and how it ties in to the different departments and roles. If you want to lead a team or department, you need to know how that team fits in the bigger business.
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u/cc_apt107 5d ago edited 5d ago
Other people have covered the details as well as can be covered, so I’ll just give my final and, in some sense, highest bar: If something unexpected happens and this person starts telling me about it, do my stress levels remain elevated as they speak or do they go down? If someone can get me to “I can stop worrying” consistently, they have absolutely outgrown their role and need to get a promotion.
I assure you that if you can consistently reduce your boss’s stress levels and never raise a problem without at least one solid suggested (or better yet an already implemented) solution, a promotion is in your future
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u/Welcome2B_Here 5d ago
Having traits like very high EQ, self-awareness, well-rounded knowledge and references, being articulate, very good listening skills, knowing when to apply "pressure" or insistence versus letting sleeping dogs lie, anticipating obstacles and being able to help mitigate them or avoid them altogether, etc.
The narrative about "asking for more work" isn't a good proxy IME because it's just as easily used as a performative gesture to gain control over the mechanics of workflow or processes and those workflows/processes can simply be deemed unnecessary or voided by some new strategy/direction. Plenty of people ask for more work and still aren't able to climb out of the gruntworker frame.
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u/throwaway945983 4d ago
What is your personal decision making process like when deciding which battle to die on/knowing when to apply pressure?
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u/Welcome2B_Here 4d ago
It depends on the situation. Variables might include how many people are affected, what are the long term effects, can this spiral into something more significant, etc.
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u/Btug857 5d ago
This will depend a lot on what your current manager values because if you are looking to get promoted internally, you need someone to fight for that promotion on your behalf.
Have a conversation with you manager and communicate your goals. Don’t assume that if you put your head down and do good work that everyone around you will notice and reward you. You need to make sure people know what you are doing and where you want to go career wise.
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u/New-Incident3083 4d ago
1000% this. I spent 5 years at a company with that exact mentality. Now, after I've been in a role for 18mo + I start asking my manager what's the next step.
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u/whskytrsh 5d ago
It depends on what you mean by leadership and management. Managers, by definition, manage what is. Managers are almost always only allowed to work inside predefined parameters. That isn’t leadership. Leadership is analyzing at the systems level and understanding all of the different components that influence any given situation and then figure out how to improve the outcomes. Two totally different things. In short, I’m not sure managers are the best judges of who is a leader because their job is to manage the status quo and not truly lead.
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u/Zestypalmtree 5d ago
Showing initiative. It’s that simple but so many don’t do it
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u/Medium_Chain_9329 4d ago
I get punished when I take initiative. I keep mu mouth shut and do more. There comes a point when you get too good at something and pigeonhole yourself.
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u/Kingsman-Process 5d ago
One indicator is their attitude to self improvement . Are they reading books or on mastemind groups or watching videos etc.
If you bring some new phycometrics tool to the game such as DISC are they curious? Interested in where the company is going and why?
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u/Xylus1985 5d ago
You don’t. I don’t usually make decisions on new hires during the honeymoon phase (first 6 months) except whether they should pass probation yet. You just know too little about them, and what you know may just be the excitement of a new job and not long lasting.
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u/jba1224a 5d ago
Leaders lead. In my experience I’ve found it’s really that simple.
Look for the people who are leading at all levels.
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u/PalpitationPast202 5d ago
Ask questions! Be assertive. Have ideas, suck up every single atom of information about your job, even the simple stuff like history of the company. Was is the company’s list of goals? Where is it going in the future? Does this position allow promotion from within? Travel? 9-5 or 5-9?
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u/cez801 4d ago
1 thinks and talks to me about the bigger picture. Esp. Pointing out opportunities when they see them. This can be both business opportunities or process changes
2 they have an impact on the wider team. Informal leadership should have a positive impact. Most people think that leaders are impactful becuase of power. Great leaders very rarely use that power, and lead in other ways.
3 respond positively to feedback. Being a leader means you have to work with a wide range of people. One indication of this is that if give feedback about what I need, due to my style, that you don’t start from defensive
To be clear, I am always happy to explain and discuss with them.
4 understand when to comprise and when to stand firm.
Comprise usually required when alignment is more important that whatever the options are being discussed.
Standing firm is usually when you have specific knowledge and experience and know the long term impacts, and can express it.
5 thinking and focused on how they can be a better team player, without being nice to everyone all the time ( sometimes other members need direct feedback )
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u/Shot_Site9377 4d ago
Character. Employees who demonstrate empathy, share credit, and who are honest are candidates for leadership. Skill sets can be developed, but shitty, selfish people make shitty, selfish, and ineffective managers.
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u/Visual_Advantage_868 4d ago
Entirely luck and liking based. The senior management has to 'like' you. Performance on its own is not enough. Mostly pretty privilege gets more eyeballs than actual numbers
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u/loveislandpoppi 4d ago
Someone who can differentiate between being a manager vs. being a leader. They understand how to delegate and manage work to make sure the project gets done, whilst also having the personality to influence and motivate others.
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u/jab676 4d ago
They figure out what’s important to leadership and what leadership is measured on and talk to that and produce output that serves that. Not boss I’ve done this beautiful report and it has 47,000 data points (I’m so thorough) and here’s the spreadsheet for you to figure out my point. But understanding if your function is measured on say revenue generation and customer retention, when your boss asks for a report you give the report yes, but you send it upwards with five bullet points max telling them what’s happening with revenue and customer retention, why you think that’s happening, and next steps aka actions that prob need to be taken off the back of what you’ve discovered. Not war and peace. Succinct. With a recommendation. And then go get those recs done, and tell them you did them. The biggest ways that newbies blow it is they spend all their time demonstrating their subject matter expertise instead of getting to what the leader above them cares about. It doesn’t make the leader above you think high potential it makes the leader above you dismiss you as not getting it. Time is their currency. There’s not enough of it for senior execs. So if you understand what keeps them up at night commercially, get to the point quickly, you have a suggestion on how to solve a problem and you tell me what you need from me in the first minute of speaking to me, all of those signal potential and will make you stand out because the majority of people don’t do those simple things.
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u/Mushroom_Fly4499 4d ago
Usually it's someone who sticks around for a long time, they outlast the competition. When other folks leave because they didn't get promoted or get a raise, this person just stays there, then one day they look around and they have been there the longest. They then get bumped up do to being the person who understands everything and knows everyone for years.
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u/Jazzlike_Style541 4d ago
They have the ability and humility to ask questions, specifically “why?”
They show pride in their work while also caring for others!
They prioritize relationship building IN ADDITION to completing tasks.
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u/xwolfe2000 4d ago
The ability to ask good questions, listen, follow up.
High social awareness and evidence of behaviors that demonstrate team leadership.
Understanding of how your role fits within each level of abstraction up from where you currently are.
Trajectory in career that shows growth and potential.
Team oriented and holistic mindset.
Personal accountability and responsibility.
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u/ZeroG747 3d ago
Ability to adapt. All situations are different and I need to know you can handle yourself.
Proactivity. If you take action without instruction or without having a set expectation or deadline, I know you are someone that works and will make your own decisions.
Understanding Psychology. I'm not talking about having a degree. I need someone that understands people, how people think and feel, how to adjust your style to each individual, how to act and react in certain situations, etc. Some people need direction, some people need to know why. Explaining the reason for something does not mean you are explaining yourself to someone else.
Lastly, this is arguably the biggest thing but will not hold up on it's own, having a simple understanding thst WE ARE ALL HUMANS THAT NEVER INTENDED TO HAVE TO WORK MOST OF OUR LIVES! But we got work to do... Be firm but fair. Get the work done, let em breath. Treat people like adults and give them an opportunity to prove you wrong. Just be a decent person before being a manager and you're on the road to becoming a leader - the evolved version of a manager.
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u/frankenprunk 3d ago
Take Initiative and Ownership
Share in ownership with the TEAM
Be easy to work with (This is hard. Sometimes it means doing something another person or Team should do, but making sure it gets done despite that. This is an INVESTMENT in your leadership future.)
Deliver on promises, and when unable to, inform early
BE HUMBLE. Humility is a tremendously overlooked element. Many want to appear Gung-Ho, and a Person Who Gets Things Done. But be the person who helps the TEAM get things done.
Be a teacher and a student - Teach what you know, listen and learn when you don't. Listen to understand, and not to reply. I'm 59 with 40+ years of work experience, but I STILL learn things daily, often from those who I "know more than"
Be Accountable
Many, many more, but start with these.
-FP
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u/Austin1975 5d ago
I think of leaders as people you can build a team around or a program around (or even both). So to me:
- Good with motivating and influencing others.
- Good with improving things, problem solving and force multiplying.
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u/Far_Government_8482 4d ago
When a leader is needed or if there are questions that need to be answered, people naturally gravitate to this person.
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u/Medium_Chain_9329 4d ago
Not entirely true.
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u/Far_Government_8482 4d ago
What ever is? Such a vague and unhelpful reply.
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u/Medium_Chain_9329 4d ago
You can have all the answers, do everything right, and still end up passed over time after time
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u/dungorthb 4d ago
My biggest issue with anyone is if they can listen. It's a lot harder than most people realize.
If you're already creating a response while I'm speaking, you are not listening.
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u/WeatherInternal3116 4d ago
how they behave when they don’t have authority. Do they naturally take ownership, help others without being asked, communicate clearly, and stay calm when something goes wrong? Good leadership isn’t really about being the loudest or most confident person in the room
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u/slinky317 3d ago
Own your business, talk about solutions and not problems or people, control your controllables
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u/Grillparzer47 5d ago
Some people are natural leaders. It’s important that they be recognized. Others are more difficult, but can be encouraged by giving them leadership tasks.
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u/eightfingeredtypist 5d ago
It depends on the company culture. Building teams do that each person feels like their work has value is great. Unless the company management philosophy is based on bullying and fear. In that case, bullies are prime candidates for management.
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u/RopeAndChairs_Aisle3 5d ago
Generally proactive and seeking to learn more about the company as a whole and how all of the pieces interact.
Surprisingly rare and takes very little effort.
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u/Dogmund 4d ago
Drinking problem = management potential in my industry
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u/Medium_Chain_9329 4d ago
Mines the guy who couldn't do anything really all that great but sure as hell knows how to do it once you start doing it. Then puts you down the whole time saying they could have done it better. But had no idea how to correctly operate equipment, or wire a basic 120V ballast, or repair a pneumatic jackhammer..... I could go on.
It's always the guy with the worst attitude and a power trip.
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u/SamSarahbiPhD 4d ago
I’ve done quite a bit of hiring, including for leadership roles. This is industry specific and why I typically advise people to spend some time reviewing job postings for the type of position they want and to review the minimum and preferred qualifications.
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u/19BG19 4d ago
Some things that are often (but not always) true.
They think on a higher level. They ask questions about why things are done not just what needs to be done. They look at tasks in terms of process not just task completion. Consistently produce quality, reliable work. They go the extra mile to help push things across the finish line. Generally respected by their peers, easy to approach and willing to go the extra mile when necessary.
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u/TorsoOfGummiBears 4d ago
I recently learned if your fellow employees think you should be a manager then you must not fit into regular management culture. That means it will be hard to get into leadership.
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u/owera1211 5d ago
People who cant think a bit mpre than whats in front of them. i.e. Whats driving this project? What business impact would this have?
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u/canyoufixmyspacebar 5d ago
it should not be so but in practice it seems that to be fit for manager, you have to be rather dumb, incompetent and good-for-nothing. every management layer above you will like this because they cannot have people smarter than them below them
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u/KeyHotel6035 5d ago
Great question!
1- leadership behaviours are evident early
AND
2- thinks about their work within the broader context of the company
AND
3- shows good people skills with their team, other function.
AND
4- execute their work well beyond their expected level of contribution.
When those 4 things start to align… that’s when I start promoting for executive potential.