The Talent You’re Missing: How the Hidden Potential Paradox Is Undermining Success

By WOI+ Editorial Team

Between launching their careers and aiming for leadership roles, many women experience the Hidden Potential Paradox — a situation where their growth, achievements, and contributions go unnoticed or underappreciated. Despite their skills and leadership potential, their progress remains hidden from those in power, limiting opportunities and hindering their careers.

Why Does This Happen?

Structural biases, outdated performance metrics, and a failure to acknowledge evolving potential contribute to the Hidden Potential Paradox. Research shows that the first promotion to management is particularly challenging for women. According to McKinsey & Company’s Women in the Workplace 2024 report, for every 100 men promoted, only 81 women advance to the same level. Despite women holding 59 percent of bachelor’s degrees, they represent only 48 per cent of entry-level employees, with this gap widening further up the corporate ladder.

Many managers harbour unconscious biases that prevent them from recognizing the growth of employees over time. They often evaluate women based on past performance or earlier roles rather than current abilities and leadership potential. This reliance on outdated perceptions can stifle advancement, keeping women from new opportunities and leadership positions.

The Cost of Overlooking Talent

Failing to recognize women’s potential leads to the loss of valuable talent. Women are 1.3 times more likely than men to leave their jobs due to feeling underappreciated or overlooked. This not only creates leadership gaps but also hinders organizational growth and innovation.

Replacing employees, especially women in leadership roles, is costly. Companies with diverse leadership teams are 25 per cent more likely to outperform less diverse counterparts. Losing diverse talent impacts organizational culture and directly affects the bottom line.

The Personal Impact on Women

The Hidden Potential Paradox takes a significant personal toll. Women who know they are capable of more but aren’t recognized often experience burnout and frustration. They feel their growth is unseen and their potential wasted.

For women of colour, the barriers are even greater. While progress has been made, women of colour hold only 7 per cent of C-suite roles, compared to 22 per cent for white women. They face additional layers of bias that exacerbate the challenges of being seen and valued.

What Organizations Can Do

Organizations must take deliberate steps to break free from the Hidden Potential Paradox and retain top female talent. Here are four key strategies:

1. Frequent Growth Assessments: Implement regular feedback loops instead of relying solely on annual reviews. Frequent assessments ensure that development is recognized and rewarded. Developmental check-ins help employees understand how they are perceived and provide opportunities for open dialogue about growth.
2. Mentorship and Sponsorship Programs: Establish mentorship and sponsorship programs. With only 37 per cent of companies tracking mentorship initiatives, there’s a significant gap in the support network women need. Pairing women, especially women of colour, with senior leaders can advocate for their career progression.
3. Bias Training and Accountability: Bias training must be coupled with accountability. Managers should be held responsible for recognizing and nurturing team members’ growth. Creating metrics to track how effectively managers identify and promote internal talent is essential.
4. Diversify Promotion Committees: Diversify leadership teams that decide on promotions to minimize unconscious biases. Including varied perspectives helps reveal women’s hidden potential.

Advice for Individuals: How to Demonstrate Your Talent

While organizations should address systemic issues, women can take steps to ensure their potential isn’t hidden:

• Own Your Narrative: Regularly communicate your achievements and growth to your manager or mentor. By framing your progress clearly, you make it harder for your contributions to go unnoticed.
• Seek Out Mentorship and Sponsorship: Actively seek mentors and sponsors who will advocate for your career advancement within the organization.
• Take on Stretch Assignments: Embrace assignments that challenge you and demonstrate your readiness for greater responsibilities. They signal to others that you’re prepared to take on more.
• Build a Network of Allies: Cultivate relationships with colleagues who will advocate for your achievements and amplify your contributions.

Why Some Superiors Fail to Recognize Potential

Many managers fail to update their perception of employees as they grow. Over time, familiarity causes managers to view employees through the lens of their initial roles, regardless of development. This “familiarity bias” is a cognitive trap where leaders overlook current capabilities due to outdated impressions.

For women, this bias can be especially limiting. A manager may continue to see a woman hired as an entry-level associate as “junior,” even after years of experience and demonstrated leadership. This failure to recognize evolving expertise prevents full support for advancement.

Managers often rely on heuristic thinking—mental shortcuts based on previous experiences. While efficient, this means employees are evaluated based on past interactions rather than current contributions. In fast-paced environments where promotions are rushed, these quick judgments reinforce outdated perceptions.

The Impact of Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias also affects managers’ recognition of potential. Once a manager forms an opinion about an employee, they may subconsciously seek information that confirms it, disregarding contradictory evidence. If a manager decides early that an employee is not “leadership material,” they may overlook new behaviours indicating readiness for a higher role. This is particularly detrimental to women, whose progress is often scrutinized more harshly and successes downplayed.

Cultural and Gendered Expectations

Cultural and gendered expectations add to the challenge. Many organizations hold stereotypical notions of leadership, equating it with traditionally male qualities like assertiveness and decisiveness. Women who demonstrate leadership through collaboration or empathy may have their contributions overlooked because they don’t fit this narrow view.

Some superiors may unconsciously view women’s achievements as exceptions rather than results of consistent talent. This forces women to repeatedly prove their competence, while male counterparts are assumed competent by default.

Emotional Blind Spots

Emotional blind spots also contribute to bias. Managers may feel ownership over their team’s success and struggle to acknowledge when a team member has outgrown their guidance or surpassed their expertise. This discomfort can lead to reluctance to promote these employees, not due to lack of talent, but because it challenges the manager’s sense of authority.

Lack of Structured Processes

Many organizations lack structured processes for superiors to re-evaluate employees’ skills and potential. Without regular, formal assessments, managers easily fall back on old assumptions, especially when juggling multiple responsibilities. Implementing structured talent reviews and feedback loops helps reduce reliance on outdated perceptions by forcing managers to actively reflect on employee development.

From Hidden to Empowered

Overcoming the Hidden Potential Paradox requires action from both organizations and individuals. Companies must rethink how they evaluate, promote, and support women throughout their careers. Simultaneously, women can take proactive steps to make their growth and leadership potential visible.

When both sides commit to fostering recognition and support, organizations gain stronger, more innovative teams, and women are empowered to step into the leadership roles they deserve.