In today’s job market, finding the right fit for an open position can be challenging. And recruiting leaders from outside your company is often time-consuming, expensive, and even risky.

People respect businesses that value and retain their employees. That’s why internal promotion can mutually benefit both employees and employers. It recognizes high performers and rewards them for their work – and promoting from within also says a lot about your company.

Learn to recognize the potential in your employees. Who can step in and fill critical roles when needed? Who is adept at connecting with others and shows an aptitude for motivating those around them? Look beyond job-related skills to attitudes, behaviors, values, and goals. Leaders exist at all levels of your company – so seek them out.

Once you’ve identified the potential, training and growing future leaders becomes a priority. Here are six tips for developing exceptional leaders and promoting them from within:

1. Start leadership skill-building early.

Recognizing an employee’s potential early on is crucial to retaining them. Taking the opportunity to build up and support entry-level employees is a valuable investment.

2. Lead by example.

Leadership mentoring shows employees what strong and effective leadership looks like. Demonstrate the skills that make a great leader and continuously model these traits. For young leaders, receiving this kind of advice and support from a mentor is invaluable.

3. Invest in training.

Make leadership training and events easily accessible to your employees. Foundational workshops on problem-solving, negotiation skills and navigating emotional intelligence are beneficial. Additional ideas might include starting a book club that examines great leaders and inviting leadership speakers and role models.

Read More: The Benefits of Ongoing Training and Development

4. Promote independence.

Equipping employees with the tools needed to succeed on their own empower tomorrow’s leaders and develops their self-confidence. Your employees will feel valued and trusted if you support them with weekly meetings but don’t micromanage them. Make sure expectations and goals are clear – then allow them to cultivate their own style. Consider allowing team members to take leadership roles in meetings while resisting the temptation to jump in with solutions. A strong leader guides staff to explore their own conclusions.

5. Develop networking skills.

To successfully network, leaders must learn how to approach conversations confidently and build meaningful connections with people they don’t know. This skill doesn’t come easily or naturally to everyone, so help potential leaders develop their networking skills.

One effective way to teach this skill is by holding small company networking activities. Then expand this training to industry-wide events so leaders-in-training become comfortable in networking situations. The goal is to send them in place of their supervisors eventually.

6. Promote from within.

Building great leaders and promoting from within creates a positive company culture where the employees and the business succeed. Internal promotions demonstrate that your company values hard work and is willing to reward it. And people are more attracted to a company that supports internal growth than one that struggles with employee retention and high turnover.

Final Thoughts

Make leadership development a vital part of your business strategy. Then provide the support and guidance leaders-in-training need to be successful in their new roles. Transforming top performers into great leaders and assets strengthens your business and its employees.

Impact Group Training can help you develop and produce the training your organization needs to increase your impact and results. To fully invest in your workforce and the future of your company, you need top-notch, customized training solutions that are personalized to your people and guaranteed to unleash the talent and potential you know they possess. Contact us today to learn more!