From Vision to Masterpiece: Leading Teams by Seeing Their True Potential

Michelangelo once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

This powerful metaphor captures the essence of transformational leadership: the ability to see potential in others and help them realize it.

Leaders who intentionally visualize the potential of their team members and support them in accessing their internal strengths tend to understand three critical truths:

1. Solutions shaped by multiple perspectives are often more effective than ideas limited to a single point of view.

2. When leaders make all the decisions, team members miss opportunities to grow their own thinking and ownership, leading to stagnation.

3. When employees feel safe and empowered, they are more likely to be participative, creative, and motivated.

   
   

The Foundation of Engagement: Trust

Authentic team engagement begins with trust. As a leader, your direct reports need to trust that you are fair, transparent, and committed to their well-being. They need to know you consistently demonstrate integrity, self-awareness, and emotional regulation. This means your communication must be honest, developmental, and non-judgmental.

When leaders use dismissive language, assign condescending labels, or speak with negativity, they erode trust and engagement. Instead, language should uplift—helping team members tap into their wisdom, confidence, and creativity.

By displaying behaviors that engage and support, leaders transform not only their teams but each individual within it.

Curiosity Over Criticism

Curiosity is another powerful engagement behavior. Some leaders, when communicating change, adopt a judgmental tone—often mirroring leadership styles they experienced themselves. While this approach may have once worked, it often backfires with modern, especially millennial, workforces.

A more effective approach involves speaking with neutrality, curiosity, and support. This helps:

1. Shift undesirable behaviors without blame

2. Encourage employees to reflect on context and challenges

3. Build deeper trust and collaboration

   
   

In contrast, judgmental tones can close people down, slow down growth, cause disengagement, and create resistance.

Listening: Beyond Active and Passive

Listening is a cornerstone of engagement, but it’s more than just “active” or “passive.” I invite you to consider listening through three deeper levels:

• Level One Listening is self-focused. It’s shaped by your internal dialogue and often leads to defensiveness, tunnel vision, and unproductive dynamics.

• Level Two Listening is other-focused. Here, you’re fully present, listening with neutrality and empathy. You set aside your agenda to truly understand the speaker.

• Level Three Listening includes all of Level Two, but adds contextual awareness. You read between the lines, sense tone and emotion, and use your voice to guide the conversation constructively. At this level, you begin to truly see the angel in the marble—who the person is becoming, not just who they are now.

  
  

Listening at Levels Two and Three allows leaders to redirect negativity, anticipate ripple effects on the team, and respond with wisdom and clarity.

Looking in the Mirror: The Leader’s Role in Engagement

True team engagement starts with honest self-reflection. Ask yourself:

• How are my actions or inaction shaping the current team dynamics?

• Am I fostering trust—or simply maintaining the appearance of it?

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It’s vital to distinguish between genuine trust and the illusion of harmony that exists when team members operate in survival mode. One way to spot the difference is to ask: Do team members regularly express ideas that differ from mine—or do they always agree?

When people feel safe, they express themselves authentically—even when it’s uncomfortable.

The Lenses of Transformational Leadership

At the heart of team engagement lies the quality of relationships and communication. These are built through a mindset grounded in possibility, appreciation, and authenticity. When you lead from this space, you sharpen your ability to see potential—just as Michelangelo saw the angel in the marble.

By cultivating trust, curiosity, and deep listening, you not only build engagement—you set your team members free to become who they’re truly meant to be.

About the Author: With over 40 years of global consulting, thought leadership research, and Fortune 500 experience, Yvette brings deep expertise in trust, leadership, and organizational ecosystems. She is a multiple award-winning author and creator of a unique, proven model for transforming organizations from the inside out.

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