Senior leaders, HR professionals and management consultants are always trying to answer the perennial question, “What makes a good leader?” For all the testing and performance coaching on earth, nothing tells us more than employees’ actual experiences of being led.

Consistently, employees say a positive leadership style that responds to their individual needs, and the ability to provide a clear vision and direction are what they want most from their leaders. Across all generations and regions, these two factors of leadership style and vision consistently rate above issues of communication, personality and experience. In fact, less than 5% of employees feel that experience is the key factor in determining leadership ability—and this creates a dilemma for employers.

When we consider that ‘experience’ is perhaps the most prevalent way employers assess people’s suitability for promotion, there is a significant disconnect between employer expectations and employee experience. Generally speaking, we make the assumption that the more experience a person has in a given area, the more likely that they will be able to transfer that knowledge to others, and perhaps take on a leadership role. Of course, we all know this doesn’t always hold true, yet experience remains one (if not the) key differentiator in selecting someone for a job.

If we know this disconnect between organizational practice and employee experience exists, surely it’s time to do something about it—and we can. To improve leaders’ performance, employers will need to reconsider the way they seek and promote talent in their organization. Essentially, this means finding other ways for people to demonstrate their talent and to show their leadership skills before they enter a permanent leadership role.

The other key issue is support. Different teams come with different challenges, and it’s unlikely that any leader will go through their entire career without needing some support and advice. One-size-fits-all courses can do some of this work, but organizations are complex, and having other avenues for people to receive tailored, one-on-one support to develop the skills they need today are also necessary.

And if we remember that employees mostly want a leader who can provide a clear vision, and who will be flexible and intuitive enough to respond to their individual needs, we will know where to focus our support and development resources. This knowledge also tells us where to focus our assessment efforts too. So, if many employees indicate a willingness to accept inexperienced leaders (if they demonstrate the right style), organizations must hone their leadership identification skills. They must adapt to pinpoint and build leadership skills that meet the requirements of their employees and industry—especially as they change.

What no organization can afford to do is assume simply that the right leadership skills will develop over time.

This post is part of 7 lessons for good leaders,  a new free for download Ebook.