Forget Searching for Potential; Try This Approach With Your Team Instead

In 2010, I led my first yoga teacher training at the yoga studio where I taught. One specific moment from that first teacher training has stayed with me ever since:

Halfway through the year-long program, the studio owner pulled me aside to ask, "Who do you think has potential?" This question caught me off guard. Although I had a clear understanding of how well each trainee's was doing, predicting their future success as yoga teachers felt like an immense responsibility.

I knew my response could significantly influence whether or not they were offered a job at the studio. I also felt pressured to give an answer, even though I didn’t feel capable, fearing that not answering might reflect poorly on my judgment and jeopardize my own position as a trainer.

Take a moment to reflect on the same question yourself, directed at the important people in your life—your friends, family members, team members. Visualize each person and consider how they do things, their strengths, their weaknesses, and their passions. Who among them possesses potential and who doesn’t? It's not an easy question to answer, right?

It has been more than a decade after that first training, having stayed in touch with many of the trainees, I've watched some who seemed like they would be good yoga teachers become good yoga teachers, some who excelled during training never teach a single yoga class, and some who initially struggled turn into thriving full-time teachers.

Which begs the question: What role, if any, does potential play in predicting a person’s future success?

The Problem With Potential

There's no such thing as potential. Or rather, there is, but it doesn’t mean anything more than having the capacity to learn, grow, and improve — which every human has. The presence of potential doesn’t tell us much about your chances, or anyone else’s, for success at something. The labels of 'high potential' or 'low potential' lack specificity—what exactly is the potential for?—and measurability—how is this potential assessed? Attempting to gauge someone's general potential for success is, at best, unproductive and, at worst, unethical. It is irresponsible to deem someone as less or more likely to succeed based on such an unreliable metric.

With that said, I don’t blame the studio owner for wanting to identify and hire talented teachers before competitors could. It’s smart. But, using "potential" as the metric falls short. We need reliable indicators to assess someone's likelihood of success in a particular role—so, if not potential, then what?

I prefer to consider someone’s momentum over their potential, as suggested by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall in the book '9 Lies About Work.’

What Is Momentum?

Momentum in physics is the product of an object's mass and its velocity. It describes not only the size of something but also how fast it's moving. When applied to a person’s chances of success in a role, 'mass' represents what a person currently possesses or has achieved—traits, strengths, weaknesses, passions, and their enduring ways of doing things, as well as their current skills, experience, and education. 'Velocity,' on the other hand, represents how someone has applied themselves in the past and how they plan to do so in the future to move in a specific direction. This includes acquiring new skills, updating current ones, expanding their network, obtaining certifications, and setting future goals.

The question then isn't if a person has potential—whether they can learn, grow, and develop—but rather what they aim to achieve and in which direction.

"Potential" is often seen as a static concept, suggesting that growth is either inevitable or impossible for a person, which undermines the leader's role. It's too easy to excuse underperformance by saying someone just didn't have potential, implying nothing could have been done. In contrast, "momentum" is dynamic, opening up possibilities and recognizing individuals as unique, purposeful beings who need investment and support to reach their goals. Everyone has both potential and momentum, but as a leader, you can significantly influence momentum.

How Do You Determine Momentum?

Imagine you're a studio owner interviewing Juan for a teaching position. To determine his momentum, you'd start by asking questions to help you understand Juan’s traits, strengths, weaknesses, and passions both as a person and a teacher. questions like:

“What do you love most about teaching? What do you find most challenging? If I asked your current students, what would they say you're great at? What might they suggest I support you with or not ask you to do? If you could change one thing about the yoga industry, what would it be?"

Next, you'd want to learn about how he has already built up his knowledge and experience with questions like:

"How many classes do you currently teach per week? What styles of yoga are you trained in? What's your average class size? How long have you been teaching? How many trainings have you completed? How many hours of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) have you logged?"

Finally, you’d gauge where he wants to go and what his focus and energy are currently directed towards with questions like,

“What's the next training or certification you’re eager to enroll in? How many students do you want to have in your classes, on average, by this time next year? What are your goals for your teaching career? Where do you see yourself in 1, 5, and 10 years?”

By understanding Juan’s enduring traits and how he’s built his resume (his mass), how he’s navigated his path so far, and where he’s headed (his velocity), you can determine how these aspects align with the role you’re hiring for and your capacity to invest in his momentum. This approach allows you to deal with concrete, measurable, and developable details rather than trying to puzzle out an elusive quality that may not exist.

Engaging with team members to understand their momentum can uncover significant untapped energy and innovative ways to position them for learning, growth, and increased momentum. This should be the goal of every people leader.

Best Practices For Assessing + Creating Momentum

• Begin by identifying their core mass—their strengths, weaknesses, motivators, education, skillset, and experience. This foundational step is aimed at understanding the individual's inherent qualities and professional identity.

• Evaluate their velocity—the speed and direction of their career progress, including their engagement in professional development, aspirations, and goals. This helps in understanding where there is already energy and interest for future growth.

• Align their momentum with your organization's objectives by evaluating how their career velocity fits with the role and your ability to support their advancement. This approach focuses on investing in their momentum for mutual benefit.

Discover Your Strength at Building Momentum

If you're a leader aiming to leverage your own strengths to nurture and boost the momentum of your team members, coaching could be the key. Click >> here to schedule a 30-minute discovery call with me to find out how.