Signs of leadership talent are cues for curiosity, not a diagnosis and not a caste stamp.
Tests measure a sample already shaped by teaching and invitation. False positives are part of the identification problem.
Early cues
- 3–6 — Coalition play — Gets a group to a finish.
- 7–9 — Timing talk — Waits, then speaks.
- 10–13 — Role literacy — Knows what a captain cannot do.
- 14–17 — After-action honesty — Names their own miss.
- Adult — Quiet coordination — Leads without a stage.
Tests & tasks
- Group task with rotating roles — Situation sample.
- After-action note — What they saw in the room.
- Trait questionnaire — Modest, halo-prone.
- Speech-only audition — Charisma theatre.
Environments
- Real stakes, small — A budget, a deadline.
- Rotating authority — Not a permanent prefect.
- Follower feedback — The missing instrument.
- Ethics review — Power without a code is a false positive.
False positives
- Loudest in the room — Volume as glow.
- Parent-bought roles — Access.
- Crisis selfie — Media file ≠ office file.
- Great-man cosplay — Carlyle in a hoodie.
Leadership talent: a cue is information. A label without a review date is a caste.