Recruiting leaders of the future: a guide

Does your business have leaders of the future? Or are you a potential leader of the future? Leaders of the future are those who are equipped to guide and shape the modern workplace. They understand current technological advances, have a passion for getting to know the business and the people within it and understand the need for corporate social responsibility within their organisations; they truly care. Employers need to be adaptable and forward-thinking when it comes to recruiting the right kind of talent who can bring a new level of strategic vision and creativity into their organisations.

Identifying Leaders of the Future

When recruiting leaders of the future it is important to look for candidates with the right combination of vision, skills, and experience. Effective leaders have the ability to assess daily challenges in the workplace and create effective solutions whilst promoting strong business goals. This can differ from having excellent management in place. When identifying potential leaders of the future, employers should look for qualities which demonstrate a strong understanding of internal and external dynamics; self-awareness; good communication skills; problem-solving ability; and organisational skills.

Employers must also be able to assess candidates’ qualities accurately, distinguishing between those with actual leadership potential and those who merely portray it. To do this, employers should use a combination of techniques which could include interviews, psychometric assessments, background checks, and references.

Recruiting Leaders of the Future

Once employers have identified the qualities and skills they are looking for in a leader of the future, they should create a detailed job description which is an accurate reflection of the current role but also one which is more aspirational. Employers should ask themselves, where could this role develop in the future and what skills or qualities would be needed at that point? Once this is established, employers can then reach out to potential candidates, whether this be internal or external applicants.

Preparing for the Interview

Once potential candidates have been identified, employers should begin to prepare for the interview. This is a key stage because employers need to differentiate between those skills found within a job description and the qualities of a successful candidate which are not as easily identifiable on paper, such as self-awareness, vision and creativity, people management abilities, and problem-solving skills. This should also be reflected in using an appropriate interview structure and asking the right type of questions to help identify the right individual.

Interviewing Potential Leaders of the Future

The interview process should begin with creating a positive first impression of the business, purpose and culture. Good planning is key and employers should look beyond the answer given by the candidate and consider their body language and enthusiasm when making an assessment. Interviewers should listen and question further, creating a deeper discussion to really understand key motivations, long term plans and goals. An interviewer should come away from an interview satisfied with all of the information gained and with a clear view of the individual interviewed.

Making the Final Decision

Once employers have interviewed all potential leaders of the future, the next step will be to make the difficult decision of selecting the most appropriate candidate. It is natural to feel slightly hesitant about offering a key role in a business after only a few meetings. Checking references, social media profiles and revisiting the original application can really help with peace of mind. Once the decision is made, start as you mean to go on, make contact with your new leader of the future, start to build awareness of the company culture they are joining and get to know the individual and their true motivations.

Conclusion

Recruiting leaders of the future is essential for businesses who wish to remain competitive and successful in today’s dynamic workplace. It’s a positive method of recruiting to gain long term engagement from your employee, as well as knowing the business will be able to continue to evolve and adapt in the future. In order to identify potential leaders, you must first identify the qualities which will ensure strong and efficient leadership. This will shape the right interview process to set the chosen candidate on the path to becoming a successful leader of the future. If you haven’t established what qualities are key within your leaders of the future yet, now might just be the time to start thinking about it.