Most organizations, especially commercial businesses, require strong leadership to be successful. I’m hard pressed to think of an example where this isn’t the case. There is a decent article in Fortune (10/1/07) about companies that spend significant time and money on developing leaders. However, it isn’t always easy to find your leaders. You typically need a strong HR process, current leadership committed to developing leadership, or future leaders who take the time to aggressively manage their career; many organizations lack all three.
One tool in your arsenal for finding future leaders is an online community. If you use an internal community, you can use it to identify potential leaders. An online community is a perfect stage for people to demonstrate qualities that are important for leadership:
- Willingness to share information
- Willingness to take chances and make mistakes (i.e. they aren’t afraid to post information)
- Ability to communicate effectively
- Ability to inspire others to participate
It takes guts and knowledge to be an active member of an online community. There will always be “experts” in communities that don’t necessarily want to become leaders. They may be very technical or simply wish to share with the community without assuming a leadership role; this is fine. Most organizations are made up of a small percentage of leaders and experts. An online community is a perfect way to both types to come together for the benefit of all. Use this asset creatively to help identify and develop future company leaders.
