Why use a talent assessment to find future leaders? An organization that promotes from within will have very little trouble recognizing potential leaders because a past job performance is usually a good measurement of leadership skills and abilities. But what if the company is seeking to hire recent college graduates who will be developed into future leaders over time? The human resource manager can use an asssessment to determine the best candidates for a leadership position.
If the organization is planning a new leadership training program owned and sponsored by the company then developing its own assessment or utilizing one that already exists would be a valuable first step in determining likely leadership candidates. Such an assessment would be an easy addition to the psychometric assessment given to applicants to determine aptitude and personality. The talent portion of the assessment can be directed toward the twelve traits found in good leaders. Those twelve traits are:
1. Carefulness - the natural tendency to think and plan before acting or speaking.
2. Cooperation - the willingness to work with others toward a common goal
3. Creativity - the ability to use the imagination to enhance or better a product or service
4. Discipline - a willingness to being responsible and dependable
5. Goodwill - the ability to think well of other's intentions and forgive
6. Influence - the natural tendency to impress others
7. Optimism - an undying positive outlook
8. Order - the natural tendency toward organization
9. Savvy - the ability to read people
10. Sociability - the ability to relate to all people
11. Stability - calm and rational no matter what the circumstances are
12. Striving - incapable of quitting
There are hundreds of assessments to choose from if the organization wishes to use the talent portion of the overall assessment process. It is advised that the company compares several different assessments and their benefits before making a final choice. The talent assessment can help an organization save time and money by helping the company find leadership potential among job applicants. If a company's senior leaders are retiring within a few years, this assessment can be given every time there is a job opening in the company so that new potential leaders can be trained and transitioned smoothly into the vacated positions.