The Essential Supervisor's Handbook you'll want to identify the key people on your team that you can rely on. You don't need to pick one employee, and in fact it is most beneficial to choose several people so that you not only have options, but you also foster some healthy competition. If you clearly pick just one person, you'll end up alienating the others who have potential. Identifying these people is something that will take time to do--you need to observe employees over the long term and notice those who consistently impress you. Consider your employees. You want to choose ones to mentor who are: Smart.