Ben MortonLeadership Trainer, Coach and Speaker

Are you unintentionally suppressing your team's potential?

28 Feb 2026 · 1 min

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In this reflective leadership talk, the speaker acknowledges that leaders often unintentionally suppress their team's potential through subtle behaviors. He shares a personal anecdote from his time facilitating a workshop at Tesco's Leadership Academy, where he assigned a capable new graduate, Doug, to merely shadow him rather than actively contribute. The story illustrates how well‑meaning decisions can limit growth opportunities. He also references Tesco’s standard practice of ending meetings with a "Bs and Cs" (Benefits and Concerns) exercise, highlighting the role of structured reflection in uncovering such hidden suppression.

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It's very rare for us to do this intentionally. We don't set out to suppress and pin our team down, but it happens through some subtle, unintentional behaviors and actions. And if I'm honest, I've done this myself in the past. When I was working in the Leadership Academy at Tesco, I was facilitating a workshop and I had a new graduate, Doug, working with me. He was young, bright, and very capable. And because he was new, I thought it would be best for him just to shadow me. And at that time, within Tesco, there was a standard protocol in the business that at the end of every meeting or workshop, you would do something called Bs and Cs or benefits and concerns.