9 practical tips for developing leaders at every level

In using F4S within your organization, you can uncover leaders and further develop them with our AI coaching. We offer 11+ coaching programs! 90% of uses accomplish their goal upon completion of the coaching program.

What to consider before creating leadership development programs in your organization

Here are some important questions to answer prior to planning your program:

• Have you identified a tried-and-trusted framework for your leadership development program?
• How will you resource it? Will you use internal coaches, external consultants, or AI-based coaching?
• What is your budget? The cost of professional development can be hundreds of dollars per hour. F4S is accessible, offers scalable pricing and you can get started with the free assessment.

9 ways to develop leaders in your organization

Ready to get serious about nurturing leadership potential in your organization? These leadership development strategies will get you started on the right track.

1. Establish a company-wide leadership program

If you're looking to scale your leadership training programs for the first time, it can be tricky to know where to start. Here's a framework to put you firmly on the path to success:

Identify the need

Determine the skills your company needs to achieve its future goals. Then, perform a gap analysis between these objectives and current competencies. Benchmarking – or looking at how you stack up against industry top performers – is a great place to start.

Set program objectives

Determine exactly what you hope to get out of the leadership development program. It's important to set clear metrics or KPIs to measure its success.

Design the program

Use your clearly defined needs and goals to inform the key areas of focus within your program. For example, will you focus on developing communication skills, or project management capabilities? Also consider how your program will be delivered, whether via workshops, courses, coaching, or 1-1 mentoring.

You can simplify this step by using a leadership development tool like F4S. The program has been thoughtfully designed based on cutting-edge science. You can even tailor the content to each individual, with 11+ different coaching pathways to choose from.

Assign facilitators

Will your program be delivered by internal coaches, or external consultants? Leveraging AI-based coaching like F4S' Coach Marlee is a more scalable and accessible option.

Choose program participants

Even if your program will be available to all employees, it can be useful to start with a handful of early adopters. They will be able to help you iron out any kinks, and champion your initiative to future participants.

Communicate the vision

Your employees will likely have to take time out of their busy schedules to take part (although with F4S, it can be done in less than minutes per session!) So, it's crucial to ensure they understand the ‘why’ behind what you're doing.

Execute and evaluate

Assess the impact of the program on your leadership pipeline. Track metrics such as employee performance, engagement, retention, promotion rates, and leadership effectiveness.

2. Learn to recognize high-potential employees

So, how do you identify which members of your organization are future leaders? After all, the reality is not every hire will be an A-player from the get-go. Important leadership qualities to look for include empathy, resilience, interpersonal effectiveness, and problem-solving.

Another is strong ownership. Look at how a potential future leader approaches their current role, no matter where they sit on the corporate rung. Do they 'own' and take responsibility for their projects, even if it's not technically their job? This can be a strong predictor of leadership potential.

One important caveat: no matter how observant or in tune with people we may be, we all have blind spots that prevent us from seeing leadership potential in others. For example, maybe your idea of a strong leader involves being direct and outgoing, but a potential leadership candidate on your team may actually present as quiet and reserved.

That's where technology comes in. Our evidence-based assessment is 90% accurate at measuring and capturing the X factor for success. Based on 20+ years of research, it measures 48 motivations. This can help you identify leadership behaviors, even in people who don't yet have any direct reports.

3. What are the important soft skills to develop leaders in your organization?

As mentioned, problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills are important for leadership roles. However, our research delves even deeper into the traits required by strong business leaders. These include:

Internal frame of reference: Being able to look within for answers helps you take the lead and make quicker decisions.

Lateral thinking: Taking an unconventional approach to problem-solving reveals surprising solutions.

Affective communication style: Great leaders inspire others through body language and non-verbal communication.

People orientation: Being a 'people person' proves useful when it comes to leading teams and organizations.

Pioneering: Innovation and leadership go hand in hand. Those with a pioneering leadership style fearlessly champion new ideas and make them happen.

4. Hire high-potential employees

One of the best ways to develop strong leaders in your organization is to hire them! This doesn't mean needlessly creating new leadership positions (you know what they say about too many chefs in the kitchen). It's about looking for people who already exhibit leadership behaviors, no matter their current job level.

But, how do you go about identifying high-potential candidates?. Fingerprint for Success' talent acquisition features help remove bias from the hiring process. Our work style assessment predicts culture and role fit with sharp accuracy. Plus, our ranking report lists candidates based on how closely they align with top performers in their industry.

5. Create internal leadership and management training opportunities

It's important to make the most of the people you already have inside your organization. After all, you never know which bright, future leaders are already on your team. Research shows that internal leaders are more effective at strategic future planning⁸. As they have risen through the ranks of the company, they have strong inside knowledge they can call upon.

However, good employees often need nurturing to become great leaders. This is why it's important to have a strong internal leadership development program in place. Fingerprint for Success takes an evidence-based approach to identify top talent in the company. Using a questionnaire, it uncovers your employees’ hidden motivations and strengths. You can then use this to create a tailored action plan to develop their leadership skills.

6. Provide leadership development coaching

Often, organizations rely on current leaders to facilitate their leadership development program. These senior leaders often take on a mentorship role to help mentees work through challenges. While this approach can work, there's something even more effective: coaching.

Coaching takes a more structured approach to professional development and skills training. When done well, it is free from some of the inherent biases that exist in a mentoring relationship. This is because mentors tend to draw upon their own personal experience, rather than use an evidence-based approach.

Research shows that 93% of companies report lower turnover when they offer coaching to employees⁹. Not only that, but companies receive an average return of $7.90 for every $1 invested in executive coaching — a strong ROI, to say the least¹⁰.

Historically, leadership coaching has been delivered by human coaches who charge an average of $400 per hour¹¹. However, thanks to companies like F4S, coaching is now more accessible, affordable and scalable. It also delivers results that are comparable – and in some cases, better – than human coaches. Our research shows an astounding 90% of F4S users achieve their goals within 4 to 9 weeks.

7. Make employee development transparent and inclusive

Previously, employee development has been a privilege reserved only for those at executive level. Companies like F4S are committed to removing these barriers by making their services open, transparent, and accessible to all. This means removing cognitive bias from the talent acquisition and development process. This results in processes that are more inclusive, fair, and equitable.

embed how to build diverse teams here: https://youtu.be/bS7R93G19rI

8. Support all employees to (affordably) improve their leadership performance through AI coaching

These days, the workforce consists of baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z — with the latter expected to represent 27% of the workforce by 2025¹². Each of these demographics has their own work styles and attitudes.

For example, Gen Z is known for their more relaxed approach to work and communication. They are also extremely passionate about the issues that matter to them. However, junior employees typically have less disposable income. It's important that companies provide a professional development solution so they're not out of pocket. F4S' AI-based coaching provides an affordable solution that can be scaled to all levels of the organization.

9. Use people analytics to monitor, measure and reward your employees

It's not enough to simply implement a leadership development program and hope for the best. It's crucial to monitor the ongoing development of your employees so you can make adjustments, if necessary. F4S' platform makes this easy with our powerful people analytics.

Our 'Me Over Time' feature makes it easy to track your own progress, and that of your teammates. You'll also receive helpful benchmarking reports that highlight:

Green zone: motivations that align with entrepreneurial traits

Orange zone: motivations that need more focus

Red zone: blind spots that urgently require attention

In addition, F4S uses data visualizations to track team culture, affinities, and potential areas of friction. It's about empowering them to be their best selves at work so you can reward them accordingly.