Potential isn't installed; you create the conditions

A seed carries, in its own design, everything it can become. But it only becomes a tree if it finds soil, water and light. In poor conditions, the same potential that would make a huge tree rots without ever leaving the ground. The potential was there all along — what was missing was the conditions.

I started looking at people this way, and it changed how I lead. On a team, talent is rarely what's missing. What usually is missing is conditions: clarity about what's expected, room to make mistakes and learn, a challenge of the right size, someone who sees the potential before the person sees it themselves.

That took away a common illusion of those who lead: that you "install" capability in people with a training or a speech. You don't install it. You create the environment. The good leader is less a motor and more a gardener — doesn't make the plant grow by shouting; prepares the right soil and has the patience to respect each one's timing.

It holds for the team, for my children, and for me. A good part of living well is perceiving the conditions life presents, using them to realize what you're capable of, and, when you can, leaving better conditions for those who come after.