3 Ways to Know a Leader is Ready for More

The data you value shapes the leaders you build.

Our high school soccer team has to win the next two games to make it to the State Tournament. This is the part of the season when every mistake means a little more than it did a month ago. Every big play means a little more than it did in the first game.

It's also the part of the season when you find out whether you built the right team.

Hiring and promoting feel a lot like building a championship roster. One wrong leader can quietly limit what's possible. One right promotion can unite a team and unlock a level of performance you didn't know they had.

So how do you know if a leader is ready for more responsibility, a new role, more pressure?

That question is where we see leaders get themselves into trouble. Most of the time, it gets answered one of three ways:

1) They've been here a long time, and they're a really nice person.

• We value: tenure and kindness.

• We don't value: competency for leading at the next level, or results showing capability for more.

2) They're a high performer, kicking butt and taking names.

• We value: results, results, results.

• We don't value: team relationships or current people-leadership skills.

3) They've developed healthy relationships and are achieving great results.

• We value: healthy relationships and outcomes.

• We don't value: strategic leadership or the ability to manage a team.

You can already see where this is going. The data we value shapes the decisions we make. And right now, leaders are drowning in data. It's never been more important to focus on the metrics that actually matter.

While trying to fill roles, manage retention, and grow the business, it's easy to take shortcuts. There are dozens of data points worth considering when hiring and promoting. Here are three traits we consistently see in the leaders who are actually ready.

Look Around the Corner

During our 2026 Executive Leadership Academy, we asked Curtis Barnett, CEO and President of Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, what trait he sees most often in new leaders who succeed. His answer: "The ability to look around the corner. The ability to understand the outcomes and potential implications of decisions to help inform the decisions being made."

Are you and your leaders looking around the corner — or making the turn and hoping for the best?

Compassionate Candor

Claire MacIntyre, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer at Sam's Club, shared with our Executive Leadership Academy why being clear matters so much. Leaders can't leave room for confusion. Clarity enables action.

Are you and your leaders providing clear feedback? Or are you hoping team members can read minds and somehow make better decisions?

Healthy Boldness

I watched this one play out last week during an offsite with Kraft Heinz. We were working through questions with a new leader, and team members had to decide whether to ask the tough questions or hold them.

I was reading faces, getting ready to prod a little. Then it happened. The hard questions came. Trust was built. Camaraderie deepened — through clarity, not around it.

Leaders who are ready for the next level speak up and ask bold questions in productive ways. Leaders who are ready for more can also receive tough questions with confidence rather than insecurity.

Are you a leader who speaks up — or holds back out of fear? Are you creating an environment where your team can push back, or are they sitting on what they really think?

Back to our soccer team. Two games to make it to State. Every play matters more now because the margin is smaller.

That's how it works in your organization, too. The margin for promoting the wrong person gets smaller as the stakes get higher. The margin for missing a leader who was ready — and watching them leave — gets smaller, too.

We hope these three traits become a sharper filter as you keep building your championship team. As always, reach out anytime to think through your questions out loud. We're here for it.