Give potential leaders increasing responsibility in stages: leading a project, mentoring a junior, representing the team in cross-functional meetings. Observe how they handle each level.
Look for: identifying leadership potential beyond technical skill (influence, initiative, empathy), creating stretch assignments, providing mentorship and coaching, giving increasing responsibility gradually, and having honest conversations about career aspirations. Best candidates have specific examples of people they developed into leadership roles.
Critical for senior leadership. Leaders who cannot develop other leaders become bottlenecks. Ask: "Name someone you developed into a leader. What specific steps did you take?"