# 464. AMMA — Why “Potential” Is The Biggest Trap For Growing Firms

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-game-changing-attorney-podcast-with-michael-mogill-887108/464-amma-why-potential-is-the-biggest-trap-for-growing-firms
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-game-changing-attorney-podcast-with-michael-mogill-887108/464-amma-why-potential-is-the-biggest-trap-for-growing-firms.md
Podcast: [The Game Changing Attorney Podcast with Michael Mogill](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-game-changing-attorney-podcast-with-michael-mogill-887108)
Published: 2026-05-21T04:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://crisp.co/podcast/episode-464-amma/
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/CVP1815087143.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-game-changing-attorney-podcast-with-michael-mogill-887108/episodes/464-amma-why-potential-is-the-biggest-trap-for-growing-firms
Duration seconds: 1359

## Resource

At what point does believing in someone's potential stop being leadership and start being a liability? In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill answer three listener questions about one of the hardest tensions in leadership: the gap between what you see in your people and what they actually deliver. They walk through how to handle a high-talent, low-output team member, how to recognize when a long-tenured leader has plateaued, and whether the popular idea of "unlimited potential" actually holds up. Believing in your team is valuable, but does it replace standards and results? Here’s what you’ll learn: Why potential without performance becomes a liability, and how to set objective criteria before emotion drives the decision How to know when a team member has hit their ceiling and what to do about it without losing empathy Why "unlimited potential" is a myth, and what a leader can actually be responsible for You can want it for them all day long. If they don't want it for themselves, nothing you do will matter. (00:00:00) Introduction (00:04:12) Earning the Right to Live a Little (00:05:37) Q1: Talent vs. Output (00:08:32) Potential Is Secondary to Performance (00:09:47) The Outside-In Perspective Test (00:10:50) Q2: Has He Hit His Ceiling? (00:11:35) What Got You Here Won't Get You There (00:14:24) Ceilings Aren't Failures (00:15:23) Q3: Does Everyone Have Unlimited Potential? (00:17:03) A Leader Removes Barriers (00:20:48) Closing ---- Links & Resources: No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer DreamHack Atlanta LeBron James Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant Gordon Ramsay ---- Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at crispcoach.com. ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subs…

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