What Is Potential? The untapped capacity within a person — it’s not about what someone can do today; it’s about what they could do tomorrow with the right mindset and support.
And at the heart of potential is hope — the belief that growth is possible. Without it, potential stays dormant; with it, Team Members will find the opportunities and the courage to try, fail, and try again.
The Bridge Between Potential and Performance Is Hope
Potential is possibility. Every person you lead has untapped potential — abilities, ideas, and strengths waiting to surface. Hope is the fuel that turns possibility into performance, because when people feel hopeful about their future, they’ll work hard to make it real.
How Leaders Create Hope and Help Team Members Realize Their Potential
- See Beyond Current Performance: Look past what someone is doing to what they could do. Ask: What strengths aren’t being fully used? What challenges could stretch their abilities? What could they achieve if they believed it was possible?
- Create Safe-to-Learn Environments: Potential thrives in psychologically safe spaces — where Team Members can experiment, fail, and learn without fear. Model this by sharing your own mistakes and lessons learned. Potential doesn’t grow in comfort zones. Assign projects that are about 15% beyond someone’s current ability — then provide the guidance and support to help them succeed. Each stretch builds both competence and confidence — the twin engines of hope.
- Coach: Coaches focus on growth. Coaching isn’t just skill development — it’s an act of hope.
- Recognize Progress: Celebrate growth as much as outcomes. Recognition reminds Team Members that success is a journey and progress is possible — and keeps hope alive.
- Connect Potential to Purpose: Team Members reach their highest potential when their personal “why” connects to the organization’s mission. When individuals see how their work contributes to something larger than themselves, hope becomes anchored in meaning.
- Paint a Clear Future: People lose hope when they can’t see where they’re headed. Share the vision — not just the goal, but why it matters and how each person fits into it. When people can see themselves in the story, they move with purpose.
- Model Resilient Optimism: Hope is contagious. When leaders stay grounded yet positive it signals to others that the future is still worth working for.
How are you helping others realize their potential?
I could be wrong…but I’m not.