The Hidden Leaders

 

Just read a quote on LinkedIn that said, “I feel like 95% of high performers have a former boss who ignored their obvious potential.” Of course, this is not quantifiable and may fall into an anecdotal trap of stories without foundation. Yet, there is something to this, and it has to do with two possibilities in the workplace. One, sometimes leadership lacks in perception about people and their potential for success; and two, often leaders do not create an environment for individual achievement. Related to this is the lack of systems that encourage initiative or creative solutions to problems.

            Despite the wealth of resources available for increasing leadership abilities or addressing leadership in some way (a search for “leadership” on Amazon revealed 40,000 results), leaders often select team members who do not live up to expectations. Even worse, they may have overlooked the ideal candidate either through a poor search process or a lack of perception of potential. Further, it seems to be the norm where management systems and tight operational controls actually inhibit initiative and creativity. While this may be driven by a desire to prevent mistakes or keep people on task, it is also rather arrogant and myopic thinking for leadership to assume their superior ability to make the best decisions.

            Again, these comments are not quantifiable, and I have no doubt there are many exceptions to this problem of not recognizing potential in people. As a former Dean of Fine Arts and now a Dean of Business and Professional Studies, I am sincerely appreciative of having supervisors who gave me an opportunity to succeed. In turn, I continue to stay attuned to those with potential, with creative ideas, with energy to make things happen. Knowing the tendency for leaders to overlook what someone has to offer, I work to take a deeper study by watching, reading materials, talking, and mostly listening. Open to new ideas, I often seek the views of other people and encourage new thinking and initiative.

            Having been rejected for higher leadership positions, it is not really satisfying to learn later that those employed over me resulted in failure sometimes rather quickly. It does, however, make me suspect that the process is flawed. While committees may be able to overcome some of the poor decisions, often committees are subject to groupthink or wrong assumptions. It is likely in my own leadership over searches, I have overlooked the ideal candidate due to something small or insignificant.

            The problem is both complex and simple. Not everyone can be an effective leader and, unfortunately, it is hard to predict the outcome when leaders are selected. While there are many traits of a leader that can be identified and expressed, perhaps the greatest characteristic is humility combined with a willingness to listen to people and try new approaches. This type of leader is one who searches for potential. One who seeks out creativity, and one who gives people an opportunity for growth.

            I often wonder how many great leaders have been passed over due to biases, prejudices, or simply wrong impressions. How many organizations are failing or struggling when a different leader might have resulted in great success? Are there people in your organization that are quiet, unassuming, yet have tremendous potential to make a positive difference if they were given an opportunity? Is it possible, or even likely, that a great idea that quickly found its way to the circular file (trash can) might have made all the difference for the organization had it been accepted?

            There are no easy answers to leadership but many an organization has found itself mired in old methods that are no longer acceptable. As our world becomes more and more regulated and subject to litigation over small matters, we may be seeing fewer creative solutions to problems. This is certainly understandable since doing less is always easier than doing more. Yet a call to action is a call to service, a call to leadership, a call to reach out to people and find their potential. That special person with remarkable abilities may be the one to change the future, the one to make all the difference in the organization. Seek out and find the leaders among you and listen to them. You just might be surprised.