A guest blog by Cheryl Conklin from wellnesscentral.info.
The root problem of underperformance often hides in plain sight: high-potential employees whose talents go underused. These team members finish work early, disengage in meetings, or quietly drift out of stretch roles. As a company leader or manager, your challenge isn’t just identifying these patterns, it’s responding with action that sharpens performance while honouring their growth. Below are seven strategy-rich approaches to spotting and maximising under-utilised talent already on your payroll.
Look for the quiet finishers
Sometimes the first clue that someone is under-utilised is how invisible their output becomes. When someone is consistently finishing work early without requesting more responsibility or raising flags, that’s not always a win. It might mean their capacity is being wasted. Don’t confuse silence for satisfaction. Instead, monitor signals like employees consistently finishing tasks ahead of schedule. These are your hidden flags, not badges of productivity. Redirecting that energy starts with acknowledgment – an intentional invitation to do more of what they’re good at, not just what they’re assigned.
Listen between the updates
Routine check-ins can dull your sensitivity to what’s being left unsaid. Not every employee has the confidence or clarity to self-advocate, especially if they feel boxed into their current role. That’s where structured listening comes in. Shift from generic feedback sessions to micro-coaching moments. Casual one-liners, verbal hesitation, or even offhanded comments about past roles can hint at deeper capability. Go deeper, not broader. The difference-maker? Turning those casual notes into actions. Focused follow-up, aligned with individual motivations, unlocks individualised feedback that fuels performance far better than general praise or canned surveys.
Don’t guess, map their skills
It’s risky to assume someone is doing their best just because they meet expectations. Many are quietly outperforming what their job asks, simply because no one’s asked them what else they know. If you haven’t run a skill inventory lately, you’re missing a diagnostic tool that reveals unused strengths and misalignments. Use frameworks that show how a skills inventory can uncover talent gaps that might uncover someone who’s trained in project management but stuck managing inboxes. This is not about offering new titles, it’s about seeing what’s already there, clearly and without assumption.
Make mobility visible
When employees don’t see the next step, they’re not likely to invent it. Internal ambition often stalls not because of laziness, but because the company’s structure makes growth opaque. That’s why it’s crucial to create paths, even provisional ones. Role mapping, growth tracks, and performance-linked visibility build clarity. Employees thrive when they can trace where their efforts lead. Offering a structured career path drives growth by giving people direction and permission. Sometimes all it takes is naming the next rung on the ladder to activate momentum.
Cut the idle time before it festers
Downtime is necessary. Bench time is not. If your high-capacity employees are floating without clear projects for more than a few weeks, you risk emotional disengagement and eventual churn. The solution isn’t to create busywork, it’s to match emerging opportunities with readiness. Use tools and processes like resource planning to optimise utilisation by giving leadership a dynamic view of workload distribution. That way, projects meet people, not the other way around. No more wasted weeks. No more long gaps between assignments. Just clean, continuous engagement.
Move people before they move out
Mobility isn’t just about promotions, it’s about movement. Job rotations, lateral shifts, or even dual-role designs can re-ignite stalled players. If you’ve got someone on your team who’s good, but bored, you’ve got a problem worth solving. Cross-functional exposure brings out dormant skills and keeps employees curious. Systems that embed internal mobility strengthen retention and future-proof your org chart. The trick isn’t to create entirely new roles, but to offer lateral paths that feel expansive, not like demotions.
Elevate future leaders early
Leadership isn’t a hat you earn at a title change, it’s a muscle that develops when trusted. Don’t wait for the perfect moment to test someone’s strategic instincts. Create low-risk leadership moments now: owning a mini-project, mentoring a new hire, or shaping team rituals. If someone shows spark, give them something to lead. Better yet, give them access to a structured experience like Lucidity that sharpens real-world leadership while they’re still in the game, not after they’re promoted. Your team’s next transformation starts with your willingness to bet on it.
Let learning happen outside your walls
Supporting employee development doesn’t always require building internal training from scratch. For many managers, offering access to formal, self-paced online education programs is a more direct and scalable move. Whether it’s a certificate in financial modelling, or a degree in cybersecurity or business, these courses expand employee capability while bringing fresh value back into the business. If you’re looking to support ambition without overwhelming your budget or bandwidth, this is a good option that meets employees where they are. Done right, it becomes a two-way return – deepened expertise for them, immediate utility for you.
Under-utilised employees aren’t just a quiet cost, they’re a missed opportunity. Leaders who learn to recognise their signals, reallocate their energy, and reignite their ambitions unlock performance that can’t be bought or outsourced. Your best performers may already be on your team. The question is: Will you see them before someone else does? Use every one-on-one, project review, and strategic plan as a window, not just to manage, but to notice. When you do, you’ll not only lift your team, you’ll stop losing what was never fully used to begin with.
Curious what your team could achieve with real leadership momentum behind them? Visit Lucidity to explore programs that help bold managers bring out the best in their people.