How to Spot Talent on Your Team and Grow
- Deborah Ann Martin
- Mar 10
- 3 min read
When I was coming up through the ranks, I didn't have a clear path. I just worked hard, learned everything I could, and hoped someone noticed. Now that I'm the supervisor, I don’t want my team to have to guess what’s next. I want to be the kind of leader who builds leaders.
This chapter is about more than giving promotions. It’s about recognizing potential, growing people intentionally, and leaving your team better than you found it.
Leadership Is a Legacy Through Leader Coaching
Every team has future leaders. Not just the loudest or the most confident, but the problem solvers, the encouragers, the quiet experts. Leader coaching is how you spot them early and help them grow before they even realize they’re ready.
If you’re the only person who can run a meeting, manage the schedule, or troubleshoot the hard stuff, your team is stuck. Coaching your replacement doesn’t make you less valuable. It makes you more valuable. It shows that you’ve built something that can grow beyond you.
How to Spot Potential (It’s Not Just Talent)
Potential doesn’t always look like experience or a fancy degree. Some of the best leaders I’ve worked with started out unsure of themselves.
Here’s what I look for:
Curiosity – They ask why, not just how.
Resilience – They bounce back after a mistake.
Accountability – They own their work, good or bad.
Empathy – They notice how others are doing.
Initiative – They step up before they’re asked.
If someone’s got those traits, I can teach them the rest.
Stretch Assignments: The Secret Sauce
Once I see potential, I give them a challenge. Not too big, but just enough to stretch.
Let them lead a small meeting.
Ask them to mentor a new hire.
Have them create a process guide or training.
Invite them to shadow you during a tough situation.
Give them a project and check in weekly.
Stretch goals do two things: they build skills and confidence. And they show you who’s ready for more.
Career Conversations (Not Just Reviews)
Too many companies only talk about growth once a year, during performance reviews. That’s not enough.
Make career check-ins a regular thing:
“What skills are you excited to build?”
“Where do you see yourself a year from now?”
“What do you want to try next?”
Not everyone wants to climb the ladder. That’s okay. But the ones who do want to grow need your help figuring out how.
If your company doesn’t have a promotion path, help them build skills anyway. Their next role might be outside your team, and that’s still a win. You built them up.
Document the Wins
I keep a folder for each employee with:
Stretch tasks they’ve completed
Positive feedback I’ve received about them
Skills I’ve noticed them improving
When it’s time to advocate for a raise or promotion, I’m not guessing. I have receipts. And if someone leaves? I can write a recommendation that actually reflects their journey.
Build a Bench, Not a Bottleneck
If you’re the only one who can do key tasks, you’re a bottleneck.
Great supervisors build benches, people who can step in, cover, or take over when needed.
Cross-train
Document processes
Share decision-making
Let others present ideas
It doesn’t make you less important. It makes your team stronger.
What You Can Try Today
Identify one person on your team with leadership potential.
Give them a stretch task this month.
Schedule a 15-minute career check-in.
Start a development tracker for each employee.
Ask, “If I left tomorrow, who could take over and what would they need to know?”
Next Steps
You don’t have to build an empire—but you can build a legacy. Coaching the next leader is one of the most powerful things you’ll ever do as a supervisor.
Need help identifying your team’s future leaders or building growth plans?
Join our Supervisor Peer Group to trade strategies
Use Neighbor Chat to brainstorm real growth ideas
Book a Next Step Coaching session to map career paths for your team
Visit SurvivingLifeLessons.com and start growing leaders today.
About the Author:
Deborah Ann Martin is the founder of Surviving Life Lessons, a published author, poet, speaker, and trainer with over 20 years of management experience across multiple industries. An MBA graduate, U.S. veteran, single mother, and rare cancer survivor, Deborah brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her writing on resilience, leadership, personal growth, and overcoming adversity. Her mission is to empower others with practical wisdom and real-life insight to navigate life’s challenges with strength and purpose.
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