Human potential, although for many years categorized as human capital, which is no longer the sole focus of HR departments in organizations, will always be associated with personal development for me, development that occurs through one’s own work on oneself. However, following this direction, it is easy to fall into thinking that the development of potential lies solely in my hands. But what if we look at the topic „out of the box”?
A few more words about potential
Potential is something that each of us has, and in short, it can be said that it is something we do best and, with the right effort, we can be the best in a given „space.” Why is it so important? From my own experience, I know that when I enjoy doing something, I can devote more time to it than other activities – in a sense losing track of time – and the result can be brilliant! And that’s the point. Working in a corporate office and sitting behind a desk, my guiding thought – and believe me, not just mine – was „If only I wanted to as much as I don’t want to…” The truth is, that was years ago, but I still remember that overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.
A few years later, I changed jobs, and my boss, not sparing me, threw me in at the deep end but with words that made me look forward to every dive. After a year of hard work, sometimes even until five in the morning, I was riding the elevator with the president of that company, who, after a brief small talk, asked directly: „So, how’s work?” And I was somewhat surprised to hear myself say that it was really good. Hard, but there are many satisfying challenges! (When I got out of the elevator, my only thought was: did I really say that???)
When I thought about this situation, I had a reflection that my boss, a woman with great experience, knowledge, and life wisdom, knew what to do to motivate me to work beyond the tedious Excel tasks. These were meetings with people, official, in various projects, internal, external, but always in a surrounding context. What was the result? I hope that both of us were satisfied with our cooperation. I certainly was!
Boss – motivate me!
So quickly to the point, after this too-long-personal introduction. Today, especially organizations need effective employees and effective teams. Sometimes it is difficult to achieve. We do not always have an influence on the selection of people we have to work with. And sometimes a dream team, competency-wise, is not moving forward; something is wrong. It is definitely worth looking deeper than just hard skills. But above all, it is worth reaching out to employees’ resources – tapping into this source strengthens their strongest traits and encourages action. Empowering potential activates the attributes that each person possesses. Marek Adamiec writes about them in his book „Human Potential in the Organization”: proactivity manifesting in action and responding to external stimuli, openness to interact with the environment, adaptability as the ability to respond appropriately in different situations, and creativity making our potential limitless through completely new actions. Such traits are welcome among employees because they bring something more than just their „hard” knowledge.
So what to do to activate this potential in an employee? Are there any ways, tools, that a manager can use? If there weren’t, this question probably wouldn’t arise. Potential likes to get opportunities to show that it exists. To put it simply – let’s give employees the opportunity to show their inventiveness, proactivity, so they feel they can freely decide and choose on their way to achieving the goal – of course within certain limits
Employee potential as an ally of the manager
Supporting the development of personal potential in employees utilizes a very strong work motivator. Moreover, the nature of this motivation is non-financial, and therefore very easily accessible. What exactly does it give to the employee? It fulfills their vital need for self-actualization. A person realizing their potential, using their abilities and talents, honing their strengths, feels integrated, fulfilled, accepts themselves and the surrounding world, seeks new solutions, is open to new experiences, readily takes action, and has a sense of agency and control over their life. Facilitating self-actualization provides space and creates opportunities for utilizing this potential. It is a specific type of motivation, but extremely important. Known to me even from my own „backyard,” where the opportunity to complete an important project, without additional financial bonuses, simply with the fact of signing my name, sends a strong signal that a person is important in the organization. It strengthens self-acceptance, belief in one’s abilities, and provides an opportunity to appreciate the employee. It is a motivator worth considering because we receive benefits on both sides.
The author is Karolina Nosowska, a coach and trainer at HR ACCELERATE.
