I had a conversation this morning with a team manager from one of our recent Emerging Leaders cohorts. He told me, “She’s only 26, but I’d follow her into a fire.” That made me pause, because that instinct to trust, to follow, to be inspired, that’s the hallmark of a future-fit leader.
How do we recognise promising traits in someone before they are formally recognised as a leader and given a title? More importantly, how do we create the kind of environments where those traits are nurtured rather than ignored?
At Inspired Leadership, we’ve spent the last decade answering that question. Here’s what we’ve learned.
1. Don’t Wait for a Title. Look for Impact.
High-growth businesses often wait for someone to become a manager before developing their leadership skills. That’s backwards. Future leaders show up before the job title. They’re the ones others go to for help. They ask hard questions, take responsibility beyond their job description, and carry themselves with a quiet authority.
One of the most overlooked indicators? Learning agility. Future leaders are curious and coachable. They reflect, adapt, and actively seek feedback. If someone is always asking “Why?” and “What’s next?” pay attention. That’s gold.
2. Watch How They Lead Themselves
Before someone leads others, they must lead themselves. That includes emotional intelligence, time management, resilience, and personal accountability. In our Emerging Leaders journey, this is where we start, with self-awareness. It has been proven frequently that the best leaders aren’t the loudest; they’re the ones who understand their own patterns and manage them intentionally.
Take a tip. Ask your team: “Who do you trust when things get messy?” The answer will disclose who is leading without a title.
3. Create the Conditions for Leaders to Step Up
Talent doesn’t reveal itself in a vacuum. It needs space. Future leaders need psychological safety to experiment, fail, and grow. They need managers who coach rather than command, who say, “I see something in you, let’s develop it.”
That’s why every Inspired Leadership journey includes upline manager engagement, because we’ve seen the data: 75% of learning application depends on manager involvement. When people feel seen and championed, they stretch further than anyone expected.
4. Use Data, But Trust Your Gut Too
Learning aptitude assessments and 360-degree feedback tools are powerful. They should, however, supplement and not replace your observations. At Inspired Leadership, we build personalised development plans starting with strengths assessments and goal alignment. But some of the strongest leaders we’ve seen emerged because someone gave them a chance to put their hand up and step up to develop.
Trust your instinct and observation that someone is ready to grow and have an open discussion with them. The best candidates are often waiting for someone to say, “You’ve got it.”
5. Start Now—Not Late
The most successful companies don’t just hire leaders, they build them. They create leadership pipelines that begin early, are embedded in the workflow, and measure real-world application. Our Emerging Leaders journey does just that: it turns potential into performance while increasing engagement and retention.
Here’s the truth: lack of development is still the #1 reason people leave jobs. Yet, only 30% of employees believe someone cares about their growth. If you doubled that number to 60%, you’d reduce attrition by 28% and improve profitability by 11%.
In Closing:
Spotting future leaders isn’t about identifying the loudest voice or the fastest performer. It’s noticing the people who think beyond themselves, seek growth, hold themselves accountable, and elevate those around them. Then, it’s about giving them the tools to thrive.
When we invest in better leaders, we don’t just build better companies, we build better people. That is what changes the world.
