Singapore's executive aspirations – how to spot your future leaders

In a recent web poll by Hays, over half of respondents in Singapore said they aspire to be a high-level executive, suggesting that the majority of professionals have ambition to be part of the C-suite.

In the survey of 184 professionals, 74 percent said they aspire to a position as a top executive and a further 20 percent said they would like to work in mid to senior level management. Just 6 percent do not want to work in a management role.

As there are a limited number of top jobs, only a select few will achieve their ambition. But with skills in demand and turnover rising, how can you retain your ambitious top talent? One way is to spot your star performers early and focus on developing their careers long-term.

This not only secures succession, but ensures you retain your top talent. When looking for your next generation of leaders to develop and nurture, look for strong operators who can combine their technical skills with the highest levels of people, management, communication, and organisational skills.

Look for employees who communicate clearly and persuasively, who can effectively discuss issues and negotiate with others, direct subordinates, and explain policies and decisions to those within and outside the organisation.

Also look for commercial acumen and the ability to see the big picture and understand how every decision will impact the company’s future. Nurture employees who can develop a strategy and understand the commercial ramifications of business decisions.

By spotting these attributes you can ascertain which employees have the most potential for future executive positions and in turn encourage their development. This secures your succession plan, and since you are developing their talent your star performers are more likely to be retained long-term.

In fact, many top executives advance within their own organisation, moving up from lower level managerial or supervisory positions. But if this is not possible, you can of course hire qualified candidates from outside your organisation.

Once you have spotted your next generation of leaders, it is important to continue their education through company training programs, executive development programs, mentorships and certification. 

You can also encourage employees to make a formal individual development plan that can highlight on-the-job development activities and target specific areas for improvement.

They can then think through the key lessons each experience can teach them prior to task commencement and reflect on what they learnt following the completion of an activity.

This helps to place responsibility for career development on the shoulders of your top performers too, which is important.