What does Growth Potential mean?

My daughter ran across the term "Growth Potential" the other day and asked me what it meant. She's long ago come to learn that asking daddy a question usually results in a much longer conversation often with colorful analogies, and the occasional Venn diagram. Whether you call it Growth Potential, a Growth Mindset, or just "Potential" - even for adults, it can feel ambiguous when you wonder how it can be demonstrated and measured. When I think back to the people I'd interviewed, hired, managed, there were 2 common traits that among those with "growth potential". More importantly it wasn't just about potential - they went on to grow. Those folks managed to find the perfect balance between Confidence and Humility. Let's start with Confidence: A lack of confidence leads to self-doubt, it delegates decisions, it avoids risk (and really - everything begins to look like a risk.) Too much confidence is a label we often apply retroactively when hi...