How to unlock employee potential in modern teams

To unlock employee potential, you must align individual work preferences with specific team activities while providing a leadership style that matches their natural work personality.

Key takeaways

• Unlocking potential starts with understanding the 8 core work activities that define high-performing teams.
• Identifying a person’s work personality allows managers to assign tasks that energise rather than drain them.
• Leadership must be flexible, shifting between directive, democratic, and non-directive styles based on the situation.
• Psychological safety and clear role definitions are essential foundations for individual and team growth.
• Using data-driven insights helps remove the guesswork from talent development and career pathing.

The challenge of hidden talent in the modern workplace

We have all seen it – a team of highly skilled individuals that somehow fails to reach its collective peak. Often, the issue isn't a lack of talent, but rather a misalignment between what people are naturally good at and what they are actually doing every day. When we talk about how to unlock employee potential, we aren't just talking about productivity; we are talking about human energy. If your staff spend their day fighting against their natural work preferences, they will eventually burn out, regardless of how many perks you offer.

The problem for many HR leaders and managers is that potential is often invisible. It is buried under rigid job descriptions and historical processes that don't account for modern work dynamics. We need a way to see beneath the surface to understand the underlying drivers of human behaviour. At Compono, we have spent over a decade researching the intersection of personality and performance to help leaders solve this exact puzzle.

1. Map work activities to natural work personality

The first step to unlock employee potential is recognising that every person has a dominant preference in how they approach their work. At Compono, we refer to this as a person’s work personality. Our research has identified eight key work activities that all high-performing teams must perform: Evaluating, Coordinating, Campaigning, Pioneering, Advising, Helping, Doing, and Auditing.

When you understand where your team members sit on this spectrum, you can stop swimming against the tide. For example, The Pioneer thrives on imagination and problem-solving. If you bury them in repetitive administrative tasks, you aren't just wasting their time – you are actively stifling the very potential that could lead to your next big innovation. Conversely, The Auditor finds satisfaction in precision and maintaining order. By aligning these natural tendencies with the right tasks, you create a self-sustaining cycle of engagement.

Compono allows you to invite every employee to complete a quick assessment that reveals these insights. By using the Compono Engage module, managers can see a visual map of their team’s personalities, making it easy to identify who should lead a creative brainstorm and who should oversee the final quality control check.

2. Adapt your leadership style to the individual

Unlocking potential is not a one-way street; it requires a leader who knows how to flex. There is no single "best" leadership style. Instead, the most effective leaders adapt their approach based on the situation and the person they are leading. We view leadership on a continuum ranging from Directive to Non-Directive.

A Doer often appreciates a more directive approach with clear, quantifiable objectives and consistent routines. They want to know exactly what success looks like so they can go out and achieve it. On the other hand, a The Advisor thrives under a democratic or non-directive style where they have the flexibility to explore ideas and collaborate with others.

If you treat every employee the same, you will inevitably miss the mark for half of them. To truly unlock employee potential, you must learn to recognise when to provide a structured plan and when to step back and grant autonomy. This level of adaptability is what separates good managers from great leaders who build lasting cultures of excellence.

3. Foster a culture of psychological safety and feedback

Even the most talented individual will hold back if they don't feel safe to fail. Psychological safety is the belief that you won't be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. In a team where potential is fully realised, dialogue is open and feedback is a tool for growth rather than a weapon for criticism.

You can encourage this by being transparent about your own work personality and potential blind spots. When a leader says, "As an Evaluator, I know I can sometimes be overly critical, so please tell me if I’m shutting down ideas too early," it gives the team permission to be vulnerable too. This openness creates a fertile ground for development and allows people to take the risks necessary to grow into higher-level roles.

To support this growth, the Compono Develop module provides personalised learning paths and development insights based on an individual's unique profile. This ensures that the training they receive isn't just a box-ticking exercise, but a targeted effort to bridge the gap between their current skills and their ultimate potential.

4. Bridge the gap between strategy and execution

Finally, to unlock employee potential at scale, you need to connect individual effort to the broader organisational strategy. People are most motivated when they understand how their specific work personality contributes to the team's success. A The Campaigner needs to see how their persuasive energy is driving the company’s vision forward, while The Coordinator needs to feel the value of the systems they have built to keep the wheels turning.

Regular check-ins should move beyond simple task lists and into the realm of alignment. Ask your team: "Do you feel your current projects allow you to work in a way that feels natural to you?" or "Where do you feel you are being forced to work against your strengths?" These conversations – backed by the data found in the Compono Platform – allow you to make strategic adjustments that benefit both the individual and the organisation.

Key insights

• Potential is unlocked when work activities are matched to an individual's natural work personality.
• Leadership is a continuum; success requires shifting between directive and non-directive styles.
• Data-driven transparency about personality types reduces workplace conflict and improves collaboration.
• Psychological safety is the essential foundation that allows employees to take risks and grow.
• Ongoing development should be personalised to the individual’s strengths and blind spots.

Where to from here?

Explore: Compono Platform

Talk to an expert: Book in a 15-minute chat to get a walkthrough of Compono.

Frequently asked questions

How do I identify the hidden potential in my current staff?

The most effective way is to use evidence-based assessments that measure work personality and preferences rather than just technical skills. By understanding how an employee naturally approaches tasks, you can identify strengths that may not be utilised in their current role.

Can an employee's work personality change over time?

While core personality traits tend to be stable, work preferences can evolve as individuals gain experience and move into different stages of their careers. Regular re-assessment and open dialogue ensure that their role continues to align with their current motivations.

What is the biggest barrier to unlocking employee potential?

The biggest barrier is often a "one-size-fits-all" approach to management. When leaders fail to adapt their style to the individual needs of their team members, they inadvertently create friction that stifles engagement and productivity.

How does understanding personality help with team conflict?

Conflict often arises from different communication styles and work priorities. By making these differences visible through personality mapping, teams can move from personal frustration to an objective understanding of how each person contributes to the group.

Is unlocking potential only for high-performers?

Not at all. Every employee has a range of potential. The goal of using people intelligence is to help every individual find the "sweet spot" where their natural talents meet the needs of the business, lifting the performance of the entire team.