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It would be nice if leadership transition was a refined science with its own set of rules that produced expected results. Figuring out who’s going to take over and what that looks like is more like trial and error: Leaders need to try it to know if it’s going to work. People who look like good candidates don’t always work out. Here are typical scenarios I’ve run into with strategies to help prevent problems from arising.

The eye-opener

Being an owner looks like fun until you start walking around in those shoes and sitting in tedious meetings talking about insurance, budgets or how to let someone go and not get sued. Then there is weekend work, dealing with staffers who are necessary but always present problems, listening to two managers argue over which software system to use and why, and looking at a line of credit to make payroll again because a project is delayed or a client is stalling on payment.

I’ve seen promising stars take stock of the harsh realities of ownership and back away. No, thanks – who needs that? This is especially true of younger people who value balance in their lives. The sooner that emerging leaders can be exposed to the unglamorous, hard work of ownership, the sooner that some can be weeded out.

Succession planning is always battling time. It takes a long time for people to really understand how to operate the business. Leaders who wait too long could find themselves back at the beginning and delaying their scheduled exit.

The fit

Typically, emerging leaders are identified because they are really good at their jobs, loved by clients and able to manage themselves with virtually no oversight. They also have shown a desire to put in the extra work and have made it known that they want a seat at the table.

How well do they manage people? Do they have the respect of their peers? Do staffers turn to them when they have questions? Effectively managing people just comes from doing it. Some people are naturally gifted at tuning in to people and staying out of their way. For others, it’s very difficult to not just do it themselves.

Delegation can be learned, but are the people wired to be effective managers? Some people, who are good at their jobs, don’t like dealing with people problems all day. It’s not part of their natural skill set, and they fight it. Again, people need to be thrown into management positions and tested sooner rather than later. It’s not uncommon to find leaders who don’t have the aptitude to be managers, nor do they have the interest to learn.

The un-leader

Leading and managing are different. I’ve coached people who are good managers of people but don’t have the fire in the belly to be leaders. Leading requires passion, an appetite for risk and an aptitude to think beyond the status quo.

It’s very challenging for people to think strategically if they’ve never been in that situation: identifying core problems, gathering critical data, imagining different scenarios, thinking through pros and cons, presenting and defending a plan, making adjustments, getting buy-in, following through with hard implementation.

I’ve given people templates and coached them to pick up the challenge. What I’ve found is that people can be developed, but some are not wired to be leaders. They know their place and it’s not at the head of the table.

So, how do people screen and develop future leaders? There’s no substitute for trial by fire. But there are also formal assessment tools, of which there is no shortage in the market.

What’s critical is to try to understand fit and potential early via assessments that measure what they naturally gravitate toward. People can be trained, but if an assessment indicates that a candidate is low on initiative, that person is not going to be transformed into an inspired leader who comes up with new ideas. The same can be said about other key leadership measurements, such as whether people are naturally positive or confident in presenting their own ideas.

These assessments are useful, even if candidates are not future owners. Knowing staffers’ potential will help provide understanding of how far they can be developed and where they fit in the organization. Also, such knowledge will help reveal emerging leaders before they are faced with tasks beyond their nature.

Even assessments that generate beautiful graphs and specific numbers can’t predict that people can continuously surprise us. I’m more inclined to believe people who believe in their own abilities to shore up areas of inadequacy and work to improve themselves. There’s no measuring tape or easy predictor for a strong will.

When seeking to identify future owners, use everything at hand: formal assessments, training, coaching, challenging assignments and encouragement. The more information one collects, the better one will be able to gauge whether the right team exists for the future.

Leo MacLeod, a partner in the Succession Consulting Group, helps firms plan for transition and develop the next generation of leaders and rainmakers. Contact him at [email protected].