When Potential Isn’t Enough

Joel was one of the best salespeople I ever managed. Engaging. Personable. A natural closer. He was also maddeningly inconsistent. He’d do just enough to get by, then coast.

We worked on commission, so his income reflected his effort—or lack of it. I’d talked to him about his potential dozens of times. “Joel, you could be making so much more.” He’d nod, agree, maybe pick it up for a week, then drift back to comfortable.

One day, I tried something different.

“Joel, give me your wife’s phone number.”

He looked confused. “Why?”

“Just give it to me.”

He did. I started dialing.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m calling your wife to ask her what she’d do with an extra $8,000 a year.”

He snatched the phone out of my hand and hung it up.

“Okay,” I said. “So, what would she want to do with it?”

He paused. “Probably some work around the house. Maybe a vacation.”

And just like that, he saw it. Not his potential. The value of his next level. Sarah’s vacation. The kitchen renovation. The breathing room in their budget.

From that moment forward, Joel became the salesperson he was always capable of being.

Here’s what changed: I stopped talking about his potential and started talking about the value of his effort. Not in dollars, but in his future.

Potential is abstract. It sounds nice, but it doesn’t land. “You’re so talented.” “You have such great potential.” Those words fade fast because they aren’t tied to anything real.

But value? Value is tangible. It’s Sarah’s vacation. It’s the house projects they’ve been putting off. It’s what $8,000 means to the person he loves.

Most leaders make the mistake of focusing on what someone is doing wrong. But unlocking someone’s next level isn’t about fixing their present. It’s about connecting the value of their future to what they need to do differently.

Show them what’s waiting at the next level. Make it specific. Make it matter to someone or something they care about.

Don’t tell the college kid in customer service they need to try harder. Help them see it differently: “I know this isn’t your career. But right now, you’re building habits—either the habit of being excellent at whatever you do, or the habit of being average at things that don’t inspire you. Which habit do you want to bring to your dream job?” Then work with them on it.

This works beyond the workplace, too. Parents do this with their kids all the time. You don’t motivate a struggling student by saying, “You’re smart enough to do this.” You help them see what’s waiting for them at their next level—maybe it’s the school they want to attend, the confidence they could gain, or the person they could become.

Stop selling potential. Show them the value of their next level and what awaits them there.

That’s how you unlock someone’s next level of performance.

What if this week, you helped someone see the real value of their next level?