How Can I Develop an Employee's Leadership Skills?

FIRST, ask the person what they want. They may not know. EVERY student in my executive education seminars worldwide has seen good employees ruined by promotion into management. It’s not what YOU want. Most people promoted into management were good Independent Contributors/Experts. Excellent doing, however, does not equate to excellent managing. Different skill sets. Most people in my experience accept, without thinking, society’s definition of success—to move up the ladder. That’s a big mistake. Until a person understands deep down who they are and what they want in life, they tend to live "outside-in" rather than "inside-out" -- which is what leaders must do.  

Consider the Career Concepts developed by Driver and Brousseau at USC (CA). Here’s a gratis survey to help one understand four different definitions of success and likelihood of success. Career Concepts Survey

If you take that survey and ask your employee to do the same you can have a better informed conversation about what it means to make the jump from Expert to Linear roles. You may also find The Four Stages of Professional Development article useful. Similar, converging, concepts from USC and HBS.

I found in my worldwide consulting that although this is not new research, most HR and C-level executives were unaware of it, to their dysfunction. I wish every HR and C-level manager/executive would understand this and stop trying to force Experts into MGT and by that ruining them and their departments. Stories to tell, no space here. One short one to your question: a man in South Africa asked why his manager wouldn’t listen to him. He wanted to go X and his boss kept saying, “Stop talking about X, I have other plans in mind for you.” The man was totally demotivated.

“Leadership is about managing energy, first in yourself and then in others.” (See Level Three Leadership ) What too many managers do is unintendedly demotivate their employees—by assuming their own perspective, their VABEs are the “correct” ones. The core VABE of Experts is something like “if you want it done right, do it yourself.” The core VABE of Linears is something like “it’s deeply satisfying to get other people to do what needs to be done.”

Best wishes. IF the employee has the desire and the willingness to let go of their Expert skill set and to acquire a different skill set, then you can begin to organize their education.