Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things

by Adam M. Grant

What look like differences in natural ability are often differences in opportunity and motivation.

When we assess potential, we make the cardinal error of focusing on starting points—the abilities that are immediately visible. In a world obsessed with innate talent, we assume the people with the most promise are the ones who stand out right away. But high achievers vary dramatically in their initial aptitudes. If we judge people only by what they can do on day one, their potential remains hidden.

You can’t tell where people will land from where they begin. With the right opportunity and motivation to learn, anyone can build the skills to achieve greater things. Potential is not a matter of where you start, but of how far you travel. We ne...

People who make major strides are rarely freaks of nature. They’re usually freaks of nurture. Neglecting the impact of

The true measure of your potential is not the height of the peak you’ve reached, but how far you’ve climbed

The true test of character is whether you manage to stand by those values when the deck is stacked against you.

Many people associate procrastination with laziness. But psychologists find that procrastination is not a time management problem—it’s an emotion management problem. When you procrastinate, you’re not avoiding effort. You’re avoiding the unpleasant feelings that the activity stirs up.

Comfort in learning is a paradox.

“The more mistakes you make, the faster you will improve and the less they will bother you,”

It’s easy for people to be critics or cheerleaders. It’s harder to get them to be coaches.

The real world is far more ambiguous. Once you leave the predictable, controllable cocoon of academic exams, the desire to find the “correct” answer can backfire. In a meta-analysis, the average correlation between perfectionism and performance at work was zero. When it came to mastering their tasks, perfectionists were no better than their peers.

Wabi sabi is the art of honoring the beauty in imperfection. It’s not about creating intentional imperfections.

I stopped beating myself up for past failures and focused on recent progress.

If you knew five years ago what you’d accomplish now, how proud would you have been?

But the best way to unlock hidden potential isn’t to suffer through the daily grind. It’s to transform the daily grind into a source of daily joy. It’s not a coincidence that in music, the term for practice is play.

Harmonious passion is taking joy in a process rather than feeling pressure to achieve an outcome.

Passion for one task can lead us to neglect the less exciting ones on our plate.

“There’s always a time to beat. There’s always a number to beat. If you beat the number and you don’t beat the time, you still lose.”

harmonious passion

Under harmonious passion, it’s easier to recognize that rest is a supply of fuel. We take regular reprieves to maintain energy and avoid burnout.

says. Deliberate play taught her that “the real outcome is her enjoyment.” Without enjoyment, potential stays hidden.

Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. The term was coined by a sociologist (Corey Keyes) and immortalized by a philosopher (Mariah Carey).

The practice is called looping.

“The work of a child is to play.” In the United States, play

“Reading is the basic skill for all subjects,” Kari explained. “If you don’t have the motivation to read, you can’t study any other subject.” Cultivating the desire to read nourishes individual interests.

Collective intelligence rises as team members recognize one another’s strengths, develop strategies for leveraging them, and motivate one another to align their efforts in pursuit of a shared purpose. Unleashing hidden potential is about more than having the best pieces—it’s about having the best glue.

Research shows that groups promote the people who command the most airtime—regardless of their aptitude and expertise.

We mistake confidence for competence, certainty for credibility, and quantity for quality.

They know that the goal isn’t to be the smartest person in the room; it’s to make the entire room smarter.

the best leader is not the person who talks the most, but the one who listens best.

Collective intelligence begins with individual creativity.

We normally call that a climate for voice and psychological safety.

we don’t look beyond the surface, we risk missing the potential for brilliance beneath.

The system wasn’t designed to identify and weigh the adversity candidates had overcome. This reinforced José’s belief that

We need a way to assess the distance people have traveled to overcome the unique obstacles on their path.

When we evaluate people, there’s nothing more rewarding than finding a diamond in the rough. Our job isn’t to apply the pressure that brings out their brilliance. It’s to make sure we don’t overlook those who have already faced that pressure—and recognize their potential to shine.