When Growth Goes Silent: The Cost of Underdeveloped Talent

It’s that time of year again.
Across organisations, leaders and teams are caught in the year-end race — closing targets, finalising budgets, and pushing through the last stretch as if the world ends on 31 December.

And in the middle of all this… performance reviews.

The intention is positive.
But in many organisations, evaluations remain backward-looking rituals that focus on judging past performance instead of enabling future capability.

And when that happens, one of the strongest drivers of organisational results, of performance, is underestimated:
Human development.

When development becomes silent

Early in my career, I learned this in a way I will never forget.

I had delivered strong results and wanted to grow beyond the functional tasks.
Twice I asked for development. Twice I was told to “ask someone else.”

Eventually, after a long conference day, I met with the one person who could decide.
I explained that I wanted to learn, contribute more, and follow a training programme.

He looked at me and said:
“Who do you think you are that we would invest in training for you?”

A migraine hit instantly.
I felt naïve — but also very clear.
Something essential had been broken: trust.

So I left.
And that decision opened the door to a path defined by learning, purpose, and leadership — one where growth was not conditional, but intentional.

The data is unequivocal

Organisations that invest in continuous development consistently outperform those that don’t:

• Strong learning cultures show 30–58% higher productivity (HBR 2022–2024)

• Leaders who invest in growth make teams 2× more innovative (HBR 2024)

• Managers account for 70% of engagement variance (Gallup 2023)

• Weekly meaningful feedback makes employees 4.6× more engaged (Gallup 2023)

• Employees who feel unseen are 3× more likely to leave within a year (Gallup 2023)

• Continuous development increases retention by 30% and productivity by up to 40% (Deloitte 2023)

Growth, learning, and development are not costs — they are strategic enablers.

Shifting from review to development

Leaders today navigate complexity, speed, and relentless pressure.
What often gets lost is time — and what gets postponed is development.

But growth conversations don’t need to be long.
They need to be intentional.

The shift begins by reframing the conversation:

• from judgement → to rpotential

• from past performance → to future capability

• from checking boxes → to building confidence

This shift changes not only the evaluation — but the trajectory of people and teams.

How leaders can approach development differently

1. Deliver honest feedback — with clarity, respect, and humanity
People grow where trust meets truth. Not in silence, and not in fear.

2. Treat development as a shared responsibility
Development is not something done to an employee, but with them.

3. Co-create growth paths instead of prescribing them
When people shape their learning journey, engagement increases — and so does performance.

4. Spot potential early — and invest before people feel “ready”
Confidence grows fastest from opportunity — long before people feel ready.

5. Make development continuous — every 6–8 weeks, not once a year
Short, forward-looking conversations outperform any annual review cycle.

The true ROI of development

Supporting people isn’t “soft”; it’s strategic.
When organisations integrate development into their operating rhythm, the impact is clear:

• People feel seen

• Trust deepens

• Capability expands

• Performance accelerates

Growth becomes natural, sustainable, and self-reinforcing.

And most importantly:
people no longer outgrow the organisation faster than the organisation grows them.

If you’d like guidance on building continuous development into your leadership or organisation, feel free to reach out.

— Christel