I began my career in the airline industry. I hit a spell when I was languishing in an uninspiring job, wasn’t growing, and truth-be-told, wasn’t trying very hard to change things. As a diversion, I was drawn into Toastmasters, became deeply involved in their public speaking education program and moved into leadership positions in my local TM club. I also found myself organizing an international table tennis tournament for airline employees.

These were outlets for my leadership learning to blossom. Looking back, I should have channeled this energy back into my career but, hey, I was young and naive. It seemed easier to make a leadership mark in a volunteer capacity. Furthermore, it was self-affirming, a lot of fun, and I received recognition for my efforts.

Leadership development, aka talent development and high potential (“hi pot”) development, is a hot issue, particularly in the private sector. The best organizations are always on the lookout within their ranks for potential future leaders. And at least the larger firms have formal processes for identifying these folks.

But how do you know that you have a future star in your department, especially if the work you have for them doesn’t provide an opportunity to lead others?

Listen for what your people do outside of work. With some, you’ll be pleasantly surprised–and impressed. Are they running a community baseball league? Organizing a 10K run for some worthy cause? Chairing a committee in a non-profit organization?

Now your challenge, as their manager, is to find ways for this enthusiasm to manifest itself in the workplace. What a loss if it doesn’t.