How CEOs Develop the Next Generation of Leaders From Within

If you want your business to achieve long-term success and growth, it's crucial you prepare for your future leadership needs. Having leadership development and training is non-negotiable when it comes to scaling up your business. Building the next generation of leaders doesn't just help prepare your company for a smooth succession, it also helps retain institutional knowledge, strengthen culture, and inspire loyalty. A wise CEO is one who prioritizes internal leadership development to make sure their organization is ready for the future.

So how do the most successful CEOs help cultivate future leaders? Here are seven proven strategies.

1. Identify your rising stars

Developing leaders starts with identifying leaders, or rather, identifying the high-potential employees who could step easily into leadership roles. While some of this comes down to instinct and intuition, CEOs can actually establish systems to flag these emerging leaders:

• Performance metrics. Consistent results and above-average output is a green flag when it comes to leadership potential.

• Peer and manager feedback.

• Natural leadership traits, i.e., employees who step up, take responsibility, and inspire others

By taking steps to spot these potential leaders early on, CEOs can focus on developing their skills that much sooner.

2. Create pathways to leadership

Having a natural talent or inclination for leadership isn't enough; a potential leader also needs direction. Ideally, you should design an emerging leaders program or leadership incubator that will give your employees a clear route toward the next step up the corporate ladder. A program like this might include:

• Individual development plans tailored to that employee's strengths and growth areas.

• Rotational assignments that gradually and organically expose employees to higher-level responsibilities.

• Training workshops that can build skills in strategic thinking, communication, and people management.

When potential leaders see a clear and well-defined path forward they're more motivated to step up, stand out, and excel.

3. Be a role model and provide mentorship

It's no secret: great leaders lead by example. A future leader will watch how a current leader behaves, and that will shape their expectations. How you handle pressure, make decisions, and practice ethics is all behavior that will inform how potential leaders in your company act -- so it's important to show accountability, transparency, integrity and empathy.

Equally as important is mentorship, which is one of the most powerful tools there is for developing leaders. CEOs and other senior executives can single out high-potential employees and pair them up with mentors who can provide them with priceless feedback, guidance, and encouragement.

4. Invest in ongoing education and training

No one becomes a leader by accident. Providing access to formal training gives potential leaders the skills they need to excel: problem-solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, and more.

This is where ongoing education and training comes in. Advanced programs such as an online master's in organizational leadership can be a powerful tool in a future leader's arsenal. Modern online MBA programs teach with an eye toward immediately applying those lessons to real-world situations, and most can be completed in less than two years (20 months on average). If your employee is wondering "what can you do with a masters in organizational leadership," the answer is: a great deal. Graduates are equipped for all sorts of executive roles wherever agile leadership and organizational insight is needed.

5. Encourage cross-functional experience

A great leader should understand the business across multiple departments, not merely their own. A responsible CEO should consider exposing their emerging leaders to cross-functional experiences, such as:

• Temporary rotations in varying departments;

• Cross-functional project teams;

• "Shadowing" opportunities with executives in areas of expertise other than their own.

This is a broader, more holistic view of leadership that makes it easier for those leaders to navigate the complexities of the whole organization.

6. Give potential leaders responsibility

Academic training is important and valuable, but one of the best ways an employee can prepare for a leadership role is to actually step into one. A savvy CEO can prepare an employee for leadership by slowly increasing their autonomy. Some ways to do this might include:

• Inviting them into leadership meetings so they can "learn the ropes"

• Put them in charge of critical projects with clear accountability.

• Let them make decisions within (well-defined!) guardrails.

Immersing potential leaders in the crucible of actual leadership not only builds confidence, but gives them a sense of ownership that they can take forward into their leadership role later on.

7. Provide recognition and feedback

Finally, it's important to help guide your potential leaders with constructive feedback and recognition of their achievements. Consider structured, regular check-ins with employees in order to not only recognize their accomplishments and reinforce positive behaviors, but also address challenges and offer them ways to improve.

To be a CEO is to not just build a business, but to also build up people. By identifying talent and giving them a solid roadmap to development, you pave the way for future leaders to take your organization in the direction you want it to go.