Everybody has potential, and when employees feel empowered to fulfil it, businesses perform better. But that isn’t to say there aren’t challenges along the way that are blocking people from being the best version of themselves at work.
For the most part, it appears that leaders recognise this, as our research found that a quarter of employees believe leaders have become more focused on supporting employee career growth since the pandemic, and 22% of leaders agree with this sentiment, citing it as their primary focus.
In turn, employees are doing their bit, with 73% saying they bring their full potential to work most, if not all of the time. But that isn’t to say there aren’t challenges along the way that are blocking people from being the best version of themselves at work.
Blockers preventing people achieving their potential
Poor leadership – When leaders have a bottom-line mentality and are focused solely on financial targets, instead of on creating a strong people-centric culture where hard work is recognised and professional development is a priority, employees can quickly become disengaged from their work and unwilling to push themselves beyond their comfort zone. 30% of employees who don’t bring their full potential to work said it’s because when they do, their efforts go unnoticed.
A lack of opportunities – With leadership prioritising the bottom-line, it’s very easy for businesses to become blinkered in their approach to employee development – focusing too heavily on nurturing high performers and overlooking other talented individuals who could just as easily achieve the same level of performance if given the right conditions to do so. Our research found that over 1 in 5 employees feel trapped in their current role because of a lack of opportunities to grow and develop.
Wrong role, wrong time – Whether it’s the result of inefficient recruitment or organisational transformation, people can find themselves in roles that aren’t aligned with their skills and motivators. This can leave employees unable to perform at their best, resulting in them being overlooked for development initiatives and lateral career moves that could benefit them. 72% of leaders say development decisions are based on scientific tests and assessments that generate data about people’s skills and capabilities. But with employees unable to showcase their skills in their day-to-day work due to being in the wrong role, potential can remain unrecognised and unfulfilled.
How to enable employee potential
Have leaders behave in the right way – In order for employees to reach their full potential, leaders have to demonstrate genuine care for their people and facilitate growth in everything they do. Effective leaders create an environment that enables the testing and implementation of new ideas while ensuring employees feel safe asking for, giving and receiving feedback as a means to continuously learn. They moderate their level of personal engagement to provide employees with the authority to approach work and projects autonomously as a way to stretch their skillset. And they regularly deploy coaching as a tool to discuss career aspirations and unleash talent. When all of these behaviours are deployed in unison, leaders become true enablers of fulfilled potential.
Create a culture of psychological safety – When people feel completely safe at work, they’re far more likely to step out of their comfort zone and risk making mistakes. Employees should feel encouraged to experiment without fear of reprimand, and instead, have their efforts acknowledged through positive feedback from line management. Not everything has to go right the first time, and ‘failure’ should be viewed as an opportunity to learn and improve. Only then will employees no longer fear feedback, and instead, actively seek it out as an enabler of professional growth. Leaders and managers should also be open about their own experiences of learning through failure – role modelling the behaviour they expect from their workforce while reinforcing a sense of psychological safety.
Understand employees and their motivators – Line managers are essential to employees reaching their full potential. BCG analysis found that great managers are associated with a 3.2x increase in employee motivation and a 13.9x increase in job satisfaction. It goes without saying that when employees are both happy and motivated, they’re far more likely to perform at their best. A key component of great management is the facilitation of regular coaching conversations as a tool to build trust with direct reports, and acquire insight into what they enjoy doing and where they want to take their career. Managers can then facilitate internal career moves if necessary or allocate work that engages and challenges their team members – providing them with opportunities to enhance their skillset and pursue ongoing development.
Take a scientific approach to employee development – With talent shortages making external recruitment a challenge, businesses are more reliant on their existing workforce to fill gaps than ever before. Leaders need to have a clear picture of which skills are available within their business, who possesses these skills, and whether they’re the right person to invest in development-wise. Employees can find themselves in the wrong role through no fault of their own, and so taking a scientific approach to the development process will be key to unearthing any untapped potential. Creating success profiles that outline the skills and qualities needed to bridge any gaps is an important first step to subjective assessment using psychometric testing, simulation exercises and competence-based questioning. Utilising a range of comprehensive and unbiased assessment practices to take a data-driven approach to development means nobody is overlooked, and every employee has an equal opportunity to be selected for L&D initiatives.
