So many people speak of "unlocking" human potential, as if each person is a treasure chest with a stubborn padlock. The truth is lighter and far more hopeful: potential isn't locked at all—it's merely hiding. And it will step out of the shadows and reveal itself the instant the right conditions are created. When that happens, it is no longer "potential"; it becomes visible, measurable performance.

The Seed, Revisited

Picture a seed. Hidden inside is the capacity to become a towering sunflower. Yet no one calls the blossom "potential" once it bursts into yellow life; from that moment on, it's simply a flower in full performance. Nothing about the seed changed on its own. The change came from the environment: warm soil, steady rain, and friendly sun.

People are no different. If you or I are under-performing, let's not assume we're missing something internally. More often, we're missing something externally: a relationship, a setting, a leader who makes us feel seen, safe, and significant enough to reach beyond our current limits and bring our full capabilities into play.

Leaders Are the Gardeners

That's where leadership enters the story. Whether you're a CEO, a frontline supervisor, a parent, a teacher, or a volunteer coach, you are a gardener of human potential. Your primary task is not to "motivate" people—seeds don't need pep talks—but to arrange the soil, water, and light so growth feels inevitable.

Safety and Trust: The Warm Soil

Our research shows leaders and teams that cultivate trust consistently deliver optimal performance, manifesting as positive energy, laser focus, unwavering commitment, and sustained effort—also known as high performance. Leaders who intentionally create a socially, emotionally and mentally safe environment and meet missteps with curiosity rather than blame provide the fertile soil where latent talent dares to germinate.

Significance and Belonging: The Steady Water

People do their boldest thinking and greatest performance when they're convinced they matter. Focusing on strengths with the right kind of recognition, consistent check-ins, respectful and caring language—these are the drips of water that prevent potential from drying out or remaining hidden.

High Standards + High Support: The Friendly Sun

Sunlight can nourish or burn. The best leaders combine bright expectations with equally bright resources: coaching support, meaningful feedback, recognition of strengths, and a clear "I've got your back" commitment.

Two Short Stories from the Garden

1. The Coder Who Was Quiet

A junior developer joined a fast-growing start-up. Her first manager reviewed every line of code with a red pen, publicly dissecting errors in team meetings. She spoke less and less, and her "potential" was judged as inadequate. Six months later, she switched to a different product team. Day one, the new lead said, "We're here to learn fast. When code breaks, we celebrate the data." The coder started pushing bold pull requests, mentored interns, and filed a patent inside a year. Same person, different soil.

2. The Trumpet Player Who Couldn't Play

A teenager loved jazz but froze at auditions. His band director noticed and quietly arranged low-pressure jam sessions after school. No grades, no parents—just music. By spring, the student was taking improvised solos on stage. His potential was never unlocked; the spotlight simply became safe enough for it to walk on.

Performance Is Never the Ceiling

Remember: what we see today—whether fascinating or frustrating—is merely current performance, not total capacity – our performance is not our potential. The seedling is shorter than the flower will be. So, when a leader complains, "My people aren't delivering," the better question is: "Which of my behaviours or environmental factors are encouraging potential to hide or hold back?"

A Quick Assessment for Leaders, Parents, Teachers, and Coaches

1. Trust: Do people feel free to question, experiment, and disagree with me?
2. Significance: Do they hear "You matter here" from my words and actions every week?
3. Clarity: Does everyone know the purpose, expectations, and what "great" looks like?
4. Strengths: Have I identified and leveraged people's strengths?
5. Feedback: Are successes celebrated, and errors identified for growth, not blame?

If you can't answer "yes" to most of these, potential is almost certainly hiding—not gone, just waiting.

Something to Think About

For individuals evaluating their own performance: replace "I need more potential" with "Where can I find (or help create) a better climate?" Sometimes that means changing teams, sometimes changing self-talk, sometimes challenging a leader to raise the bar on safety and support.

For leaders: your legacy is the bloom rate around you. Titles, revenue lines, trophies—all will fade. What endures is how many people grew taller because they stood in the optimal soil and sunlight that you cultivated.

So, the next time you spot "untapped potential," don't hunt for keys. Adjust the light, enrich the soil, and keep the water flowing. Hiding potential has no choice but to emerge—and the moment it does, it's no longer potential at all. It's performance, and it's Incredible.

Stephen de Groot is President and CoFounder at Brivia. He is the author of Responsive Leadership (SAGE, 2016) and Getting to Better: A New Model for Elevating Human Potential at Work and in Life (Fall, 2025). To learn more about Stephen, his work and the Brivia approach click HERE.