Potential.

If I had to choose one thing to never hear again in a work setting, it would be "You have potential".

I used to take it as a huge compliment, an ego stroke, a reassurance of my capacity for bigger and better things. I'm embarrassed to admit how long I was suppressed at work under the guise of waiting for someone to recognise that I'd reached my "potential".

I learned, as my career developed, 'potential' is a dirty word in the workplace. 

In my experience, it's a term used to satiate a capable yet frustrated employee-someone who has the capacity to do more than what they are doing. Or worse, is already doing more and not being formally recognised for it.

Here is what I thought it meant to have 'potential':

My work ethic, commitment and ability were being recognised. Opportunities for progression and development would be made available to me. The senior management team had a long-term plan for me and would support me to achieve it. There was something bigger and better around the corner, I just had to work a bit harder, for a bit longer, and I would get the recognition I deserved.

What it actually meant:

You are in a junior position getting paid a junior salary, but you are taking on the workload of someone in a senior position. You are doing that work well, and we are getting the results we want, and we would like to keep it that way. To ensure that you remain with the business, doing the good work, without formal recognition, we will ensure you of your future prospects that will be yours for the taking; once we deem you to have reached your 'potential'.

In my defence, I was young and naive. And trusting of this place that I was devoting so much of my time and energy to. That they would have my best interests at heart. I mean, that's how it works, right? You work hard enough for something, then you will eventually reap the benefits.

Unfortunately, I learned first-hand that this is not the case in many workplaces.

I should have questioned this early on. I mean, every human possesses potential. There's nothing special or different about it. Everyone has the capacity to develop into something more than their current situation. So why, then, do we continue to use this term in the workplace?

I should have clarified exactly what this 'potential' looked like. If they couldn't give me an answer, then it would have been a giant red flag. If they provided an answer, I then should have investigated what I needed to achieve for them to consider me at capacity, having reached my 'potential'. 

I did eventually ask these questions, and this is what led me to finally being able to progress from the stagnant position I had been in for three years. Patiently waiting for the day someone decided that I was ready. Only I realised I didn't need someone to tell me I was ready. I already knew I was ready. The only obstacle standing between me and my potential was myself. I was proving on a daily basis that I was capable of doing the work because I was already doing the work. 

My advice to my younger self, or anyone reading this who feels like they are in a career slump, eagerly awaiting the day they realise their potential, would be to stop waiting. Figure out what you want to do and go after it. Be relentless and unwavering in knowing what you are capable of and what you deserve. You are the only one capable of realising your potential. 

So be wary of the dirtiest word you'll hear at work.