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.

An organization may want to also develop, revamp or upgrade a leadership training program that has become obsolete. As the leadership training committee maps out a plan to find likely candidates for training. They can also develop their ownassessment and interview process. A talent assessment for leadership abilities can be given as part of a psychometric assessment that includes aptitude and personality testing. There are twelve indicators of a good leader that can be determined thorugh a talent assessment.

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 many assessments that measure leadership potential in the marketplace. A company may also develop their own leadership potential test in order to customize the test to help choose the best candidates. A company may want to view and compare several assessments before finalizng their choice. The talent assessment can save a company a lot of time and money by recognizing leadership potential in job applicants at the time of hiring. Most companies' managers are approaching retirement and will need to be replaced in the coming years. Hiring talented leaders today can help ease the transitions needed in the future.