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Let’s face it. You are not going to always be the sole leader of your startup. If you and your people have done their work right, there will come a time that the startup will transform to a mid-size company and you will not be able to handle all its issued on your own.

You will need to abdicate some of the million thrones you had occupied as a leader of your pack to some worthy employees; people who share the same leadership qualities as you. More importantly, the same passion as you.

But how do you find that next leader? How do you create an environment to identify him?  How can you be sure of him or her? First, junk all those HR books and manuals. Second, use these pointers instead.

Make it tough
If you have worked extensively with all the members of your team, you would have by now created a shortlist of sorts—a pool of people most likely to be able to lead. It is important for you to create an environment of challenges around them; tough ones, because it is only when an employee is challenged to his limits that his true character comes out in the open.

Here, it will be crucial for you to see his behavior with the team. If you catch someone in the act of leading, you must start working on his leadership effectiveness.

A mighty heart
Do you remember the kind of risks you took by turning entrepreneur? Do you remember the giant risk you took when trying to hook the first client? Yes, you did take many risks. Risk taking or rather the appetite for it, is vital to being a leader. It comes with the mantle. It is what makes things happen.

So look around and see which of your possible leaders is not risk-averse. Note if he takes risks when trying to make an impact for the company or trying to make a big change for the better. And if the risk he is taking is more personal than for the company, you might just have nailed your man.

Groupies are a must
Throughout history, the most commonly used method to identify leaders was to see the size of the pack behind him. ‘What is a leader if he is not followed’ is an adage that, though a little school- bookish, makes tons of sense in a small company.

Leaders inspire people to follow them by the weight of their ideas, the manner of their approach and the way of their communicating. If one of your possible leaders is always seen followed in and out of tasks without a display of authority, you may have spotted the man with at least two of the three aforementioned characteristics. If you are lucky, with all of them.

Not a yes-man…
Leaders need courage. It is not easy leading a pack of people bound together for a professional goal that is above their personal goals as far as the company is concerned. You need to take pressure from all sides when making a team come together to work. But how do you identify this courage in your prospective leader?

Simple. Check how many times he has something to say about corporate and internal decisions. Does he raise his valid opinion often enough without caring for any bruised egos? Does he stand by it? If so, stand by him. He is of the right mettle.

…But a go-to man
Some people confuse being a leader with someone who is looked upon with respect and awe. Rather, the leader is one who is looked upon as the guy who will always help others out. Team members always respect those who will never say no to them for any help and will always be fair in their treatment of their problems. If you see a lot of mails asking for help addressed to a certain individual for help and feedback, that is the guy who will most probably be the ideal leader of your pack.

It’s not about him
When you go about choosing the next leader or set of leaders for your company, it is important to visualize them as yourself—to think of them in your role. The one thing in them that must match with you, without any negotiation at all, is that they also believe the company’s success is their own success.

More often than not, startups, at least the more viable ones, provide employees the means to make good amounts of personal wealth. It is important that you choose the guy who is 100 percent behind the company’s interests. And not only his own.

Success breeds success
This might be a given, but still needs reiteration. The thing about your employees is that they want to be successful too. And to do so, they will often follow someone who they can see being successful. They will want to be alongside the person who gets things done, who motivates them, who is honest and fair and, more importantly, is fun to work with. In short, they would want to be with the winner.

Hence, it is important that the guy you choose as the next leader is successful as an individual. If he is good and successful at what he does, people will follow him to be able to do the same for themselves.

©Entrepreneur July 2010

Tags:
employees, HR