Uncovering Executive Potential: The Truth About Overlooked Leadership Talent

If you’re in corporate leadership, you’re likely aware of the growing challenge of leadership gaps and shortages. 

In 2024, these gaps are widening. While many companies turn to executive search to fill them, there might be a better solution hiding in plain sight. Let’s explore how overlooked internal talent could be the key to solving your leadership challenges.  

Overlooked Talent in Your Organization

So, our story starts with a worrying premise: three out of five companies globally are having trouble filling roles. But is this a symptom of the leadership shortage, or is it possible that it’s a problem of our own creation? I think it might be largely option two, because two in five companies are not effective at detecting employees with leadership potential.  

This failure to recognize internal talent can lead to decreased employee engagement, increased turnover, and missed opportunities for growth. When you constantly hire from outside, you’re essentially telling your employees there’s no upward mobility at your company. Employees who feel certain they’ll be overlooked for internal development opportunities rightfully always have one foot out the door. 

The Challenge of the Quiet: When Introverts’ Abilities Go Unnoticed

Here’s the honest truth: you likely have people who would be perfect leaders in your organization that you’re not properly developing just because they’re introverted or quieter. Traditional methods of identifying high-potential employees often favor those who are more visible or vocal—extroverts, as they so often advertise themselves—overlooking quieter but equally capable individuals. 

Research from the Harvard Business Review suggests that leaders who take time for reflection are 23% more effective than those who don’t. This means thoughtful, introspective employees—who may not always be the loudest voices in the room—could be the ones with the leadership potential you need to grow. 

And here’s what might surprise you: a study conducted more than a decade ago found that introverted leaders can be more effective than extroverted ones, particularly when leading proactive teams.  

Hidden Strengths: The Unseen Abilities of Neurodiversity

And we must always keep our own biases in check. Introversion isn’t always just a personality quirk or a reluctance to join after-work drinks. It might also result from someone feeling unwelcome or left out, or it might be more biologically wired, as is sometimes the case with neurodivergent individuals. 

I want to really impart to you that you should not pass someone up for leadership development because of neurodiversity. Not only do I think doing so would be morally wrong, but research is also showing that when put in a position they’re passionate about and that accommodates their needs, a neurodivergent professional can be up to 140% more productive than an average employee. Hewlett Packard, for example, created teams of neurodivergent software developers who outperformed their neurotypical counterparts by 30%.  

However, it’s important to note that the talents of neurodivergent employees extend far beyond technical roles like software development. In creative fields like marketing and public relations, neurodivergent individuals often excel because of their knack for lateral thinking. For instance, Nik Govier, co-founder of award-winning PR agencies Unity and Blurred, attributes much of her success to her dyslexia, which allows her to “see the big picture really easily” and “think round corners”. This ability to approach problems from different angles can lead to groundbreaking marketing strategies and campaigns. 

The Diverse Talent Challenge: When Bias Blinds Us to Brilliance

It’s also easy to overlook diverse candidates. Not because of outright discrimination but because we have an idea in our heads of what the ideal leader looks like, and that ideal leader sometimes isn’t a woman, or a person of color, or someone with a disability. 

Harvard Business Review found that women outscored men on 17 of the 19 capabilities that differentiate excellent leaders from average or poor ones. This means women, who are still sadly often overlooked, are often better options than the leader you were picturing in your head. 

And in our experience, it’s not just women. Many diverse groups often make better leaders but are consciously or unconsciously overlooked. Think about it: diverse leaders bring fresh perspectives, different problem-solving approaches, and a broader understanding of various markets and demographics. Yet, too often, they’re passed over for the same old predictable choices that offer the same old predictable results. The excuse being, “it’s too risky”.  

Revealing Hidden Potential: From Overlooked Talent to Visible Leader

So, you’ve identified hidden leadership talent—how do you change this person from employee to leader? Start with offering stretch assignments. Seventy-one percent of leaders say that stretch assignments are the most effective leadership development method from personal experience. 

Forty-nine percent of those same leaders said the second most effective tool is mentorship. Implementing mentorship programs pairs hidden talent with experienced executives to guide their development. Mentored employees are promoted five times more often than those without mentors. Five times! 

Promoting from the inside isn’t always easy. It’s often harder than hiring an executive from outside. You’ve got to really dig into your organization, understand your people, and commit to their growth. It’s messy, it’s time-consuming, and sometimes it’s frustrating. 

But it works. When you promote from within, you’re not just filling a slot in your organization chart. You’re building a leader who really understands your company, the good and the bad. They know the unwritten rules and the real way things get done. You can’t buy that kind of insight, and you can’t teach it in a leadership seminar. 

Plus, when your employees see that internal promotion is a reality, it lights a fire in them. Suddenly, they’re not just passing the time —they’re building a career. That translates to better work, more innovation, and people who actually care about your company’s success. 

You want leaders who are invested in your company’s future because it’s their future too. That’s how you build something that is sustainable. 

About the Author

Eleri Dodsworth is a Partner at Stanton Chase London and serves as the Regional Leader for the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging practice group for the EMEA region. She also represents the firm on the AESC Diversity Leadership Council for Europe and Africa.    

Eleri is a passionate advocate for equity, inclusion, diversity, and belonging. She strongly believes in helping her clients build diverse leadership teams, seeing diversity and inclusion as essential values that significantly impact business performance. Eleri specializes in placing leaders at the C-suite level, divisional directors, and non-executive directors in listed companies, as well as in private equity, family-owned, and privately owned businesses.