Are You Accidentally Letting Future Leaders Slip Away?

Several years ago, we had an opening for a senior position on our product team. By that point, my company, Jotform, had been in business for a few years, so I was accustomed to the hiring process. It was, however, my first time replacing a high-level employee who had moved on.

The departing employee had done great work, but now, I had a decision to make: On the one hand, I could hire an outsider with direct experience and ample credentials. Maybe a highly sought-after superstar from another tech company who would make our rivals jealous. The other option: promote someone from within — a known quantity who understood our culture, values and cared about the vision.

Both options had their pitfalls. An outsider could be good on paper, but fall flat once in the role. An internal candidate would lack the exact experience the role required, meaning they’d need time to get their sea legs.

In many ways, hiring externally seemed like a safer bet. After all, they’d not only be bringing the right experience, they might also bring in fresh perspectives and exciting new ideas that would help the company grow. But to me, it was a no-brainer. I promoted one of our junior staff, someone who had worked closely with the outgoing manager. That person is still with us today, now at the executive level.

Growing a great leader doesn’t happen automatically — it has to be consciously ingrained in your company’s culture. Here’s how I approach it.

Hire for the long haul

Regularly switching jobs has become commonplace, especially among younger workers. Research from Randstad found that Gen Z’s average tenure in the first five years of their career is just over a year, lower than millennials (nearly two years), Gen X and baby boomers (both nearly three years). Zoomers’ tendency to job-hop isn’t laziness or disloyalty, the report clarifies — “rather, they’re moving because of their ambition and a perceived lack of pathways within the roles they are exiting.”

In other words, employees only start looking elsewhere once it becomes clear they don’t see a future at your company. But when you signal early — I mean “interview stage” early — that you’re invested in their growth, you lay the foundation for the long-term.

That’s why when I talk to candidates, I’m looking for more than the skills they have right now. I’m trying to understand who they might become in three, five or 10 years. Do they ask thoughtful questions about our mission? Are they curious about problems outside their immediate job description? Do they talk about wanting to learn, or just about what they already know?

This also means being transparent during the hiring process about what advancement looks like at your company. Don’t oversell or make promises you can’t keep, but do paint a picture of the possibilities. At Jotform, several of our executives started in entry-level positions over a decade ago, and we’re proud of our mentorship program that gives interns and new hires a direct path to growth. We want our people to stay with us for a long time, and we want them to want that, too.

Hand off responsibility before they’re “ready”

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is waiting until someone has checked every box before entrusting them with more responsibility. But perfect is the enemy of good, and in that process, your potential leaders will leave to find opportunities elsewhere.

I learned this during my parental leave a few years ago. I needed to step away for several months, which meant delegating responsibilities I’d never handed off before. I trained several employees to handle tasks I’d always done myself, from product decisions to strategic planning. I was nervous to leave, of course, but I was also confident that they’d step up while I was away.

And they did — in fact, I was surprised to see that some of them did certain things better than I ever had. In the same way a plant’s roots expand when transplanted to a larger pot, good employees grow into bigger roles when given the space to do so.

Stretch assignments — those projects that push employees beyond their existing skillsets — are actually a major driver of growth, research has found. I’m an adherent of the 70-20-10 framework, which holds that leaders grow from three types of experience: 70% from challenging experiences and assignments, 20% from developmental relationships and 10% through coursework and training. You don’t learn to swim or grow a garden or fly an airplane by talking about it. Ultimately, you learn by doing it.

There’s a reason we say that leaders are made, not born. Hire candidates with a growth mindset, equip them with the right tools and give them the space they need to flourish. You might be surprised to find that the best leaders may already be sitting in your building, waiting for their chance to shine.

Several years ago, we had an opening for a senior position on our product team. By that point, my company, Jotform, had been in business for a few years, so I was accustomed to the hiring process. It was, however, my first time replacing a high-level employee who had moved on.

The departing employee had done great work, but now, I had a decision to make: On the one hand, I could hire an outsider with direct experience and ample credentials. Maybe a highly sought-after superstar from another tech company who would make our rivals jealous. The other option: promote someone from within — a known quantity who understood our culture, values and cared about the vision.

Both options had their pitfalls. An outsider could be good on paper, but fall flat once in the role. An internal candidate would lack the exact experience the role required, meaning they’d need time to get their sea legs.