The trick to finding that hidden gem in your organisation

In the early 2000s, I was invited to be part of a select group that would form the future pool of global leaders at the organisation in which I was working. This pool of talent had a three-tiered approach—it comprised established leaders, leaders in waiting, and those who would be leaders in the next three to five years. In various leadership team meetings, I have often pointed out that the legacy any leader can leave behind is a pool of future-ready leaders who would take the organisation to a higher trajectory. In my conversations with these ambassadors, I made them more aware of what was in it for them: leadership visibility to open future career opportunities, the possibility to build broader internal networks, learnings to lead through influence, solving real problems beyond their core comfort zone, and most importantly, building the organisation that they would love to be leading in the future.