Hidden Potential by Adam Grant
“An education system isn’t truly successful until all children - regardless of background and resources - have the opportunity to reach their potential.”
3 Main Messages:
Curiosity and feedback are vital for growth, development and success
The goal isn’t to be the smartest in the room; it’s to make the whole room smarter.
“It’s more important to be good ancestors than dutiful descendents.”
This book was problematic for me. Don’t get me wrong; it was brilliant. Each chapter held gems of great wisdom, entertaining stories and life lessons to learn from. I could write a book about this book. There’s my problem - how on earth do I condense so much learning into one small article?
Grant starts by telling the wonderful story of the Raging Rooks, a chess team from Harlem who succeeded, despite the odds. This was because they had more than chess skills; they had motivation and character: skills now known as ‘soft skills’ - a phrase which comes from US Army Training referring to skills where no machines are involved. Although they were disregarded by many, it turns out, when it comes to longevity and success, that these ‘soft skills’ are our greatest source of strength.
Grant also writes about the importance of being a sponge - of being curious, pro-active and growth-orientated. He tells entertaining stories of comedians, athletes and polyglots who were constantly taking the initiative to expand themselves and adapt.
Part of the secret of sponge-like success is in seeking advice and being hungry for feedback. It made me wonder how much potential growth is missed due to people being defensive about feedback or leaders being unskilled or reluctant to give it effectively? An effective leader has to be one who builds the relationships and systems which actively embed feedback cycles.
As Grant writes: “We’re confusing politeness with kindness. Being polite is withholding feedback to make someone feel good today. Being kind is being candid about how they can get better tomorrow.” He suggests that the key to being a sponge is to find those who care, have credibility and who are familiar to you and then seek out their thoughts and advice on what you can do better.
Other factors Grant covers which impact potential are:
Growth Mindset, championed by Carol Dweck,.
Coaching one another, like The Golden Thirteen, who succeeded through a practice of ‘drilling and grilling.’
The importance of developing a love of reading.
Unearthing collective intelligence in teams.
Creating a culture which values education.
As part of his research, Grant visited Finland to learn about its school system and to see what lessons could be learned about its consistent educational excellence. What he discovered were quick wins which any school could introduce, such as the pattern of having 45 minute lessons in Kindergarten, with 15 minutes of break in between. They also often ‘loop’ teachers so that they teach the same students for more than a year to build on relationships and their strong knowledge of individuals in their care.
I loved that “Finnish educators assume the most important lesson to teach children is that learning is fun,” and that “play fosters a love of learning.” They believe that “we can’t afford to waste a brain” and so have created a culture where they use “education as an instrument for nation building.” They believe that education permeates society and so they have introduced practices which attract “highly motivated, mission-driven candidates.” It helps that they pay well too!
When comparing the Finnish approach with models of teaching and learning with China, PISA found that “more than half of Chinese students reported feeling sometimes or always miserable, and over three quarters felt sometimes or always sad.” These are horrific and dangerous statistics and directly correlate with stress and anxiety caused by pressure and additional homework and tutoring.
Grant concludes much as you and I would, by writing that “it’s about fostering a culture that allows all students to grow intellectually and thrive emotionally.” Clearly there’s still plenty of work to be done!
In writing about how to get the best out of teams, Grant shines a spotlight on the importance of listening skills, gaining collective intelligence and coach-like leadership. He writes that “the best teams aren’t the ones with the best thinkers. They’re the teams that unearth and use the best thinking from everyone.”
He suggests practices such as ‘brainwriting’, ‘dabble-time’ and lattice systems of hierarchy and changes around practices of recruitment in order to search for potential as well as evidenced achievement.
I could write a chapter on each of these. I could write a book, weaving all of these ideas together. Fortunately for us all, Adam Grant has already done it. It’s absolutely brilliant and I highly recommend that you read it for yourself. But only if you are interested in finding the hidden potential in yourself and in others!
