Identify the people who could grow into the leadership the organization needs, honestly, by potential and interest rather than tenure or likeability.
In Build the Bench, after the Leadership Needs Map, with other senior leaders who see people you do not.
Against your leadership needs, name the people who show real potential. Potential is judgment, drive, and character, not just strong performance in a current job.
| Person | The role they could grow toward | Signs of real potential | Interested in growing? (ask them) |
|---|---|---|---|
Do not leave this blank. Note it, and route. If you can hire for potential, the search is your staffing work and bringing in senior leadership is a board matter, so route it through the board. And if the organization cannot attract or sustain the leadership it would need to continue independently, that is a question for the mergers, partnerships and restructuring work, with your board. It is not a failure to have found this.
A good result is a short, honest list of people with both real potential and genuine interest, matched to real leadership needs. A list built on tenure or comfort is how a bench fills with people who will never actually lead. Feeds the Leadership Development Plan.
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