Hidden Potential: Lessons from Adam Grant

At the 2025 Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit, Adam Grant — The Wharton School psychologist, bestselling author, and host of the podcasts WorkLife and Re:Thinking—delivered a keynote that left the ballroom buzzing. His topic: “Unlocking Hidden Potential.” But this wasn’t your typical motivational session. With humor, data, and disarming vulnerability, Grant challenged security leaders to rethink how they cultivate growth—both in themselves and across their organizations.

From Critics to Coaches

One of Grant’s most memorable visuals was a slide reading “Turn critics into coaches,” paired with a coach’s whistle. Drawing from personal experience with the U.S. Air Force, he explained how asking for advice instead of feedback opens the door to more actionable insight. Feedback, he argued, is backward-looking. Advice is forward-focused. It’s an invitation to collaborate on improvement, not a critique of failure.

Building Challenge Networks

Grant urged leaders to build “challenge networks”—groups of thoughtful critics who offer the unpleasant truths most teams are afraid to voice. In contrast to traditional support networks, these networks exist to surface blind spots and pressure-test ideas. His caution? Don’t fall for “agreeable takers”—those who smile in meetings and sabotage in silence. The real MVPs are “disagreeable givers”—the Roy Kents of your org chart—those who might be rough around the edges but push you because they care.

The Pyramid of Thinking Styles

Grant used a striking pyramid diagram to illustrate mindsets at work:

• Cult Leader: "I'm always right."
• Politician: "We’re right! They’re wrong."
• Prosecutor: "You’re wrong."
• Preacher: "I’m right."
• Scientist: "I might be wrong."

He urged us to embrace the scientist mindset: decouple our ideas from our identity and stay curious. “Your strategy,” he said, “is just a hypothesis. Your decisions are just experiments.”

Data: The Startup Study That Said It All

In a study he cited, startup founders trained to think like scientists generated 40 times more revenue than a control group over a year. Why? Because they were twice as likely to pivot away from bad ideas. Rather than clinging to the status quo out of ego, they reimagined their models based on what they learned.

Psychological Safety: Don’t Kill It with a Catchphrase

Grant criticized the common leadership mantra: “Don’t bring me problems—bring me solutions.” The result? Silence. Fear. Missed threats. “You’ll never hear the biggest problems,” he warned, “because no one thinks it’s safe to speak up.” Instead, model vulnerability. Name your own weaknesses first. Doing so—even just once—can measurably increase how often your team brings you both ideas and issues a year later.

Why Brainstorming Fails—and What Works Instead

Groupthink. HIPPOs (highest paid person’s opinion). Social loafing. Grant dismantled the myth of brainstorming and offered a fix: brainwriting. Let people generate ideas alone, then bring them together to refine—not create. The best ideas come from individuals; the best judgment from teams.

From “Comforting Lies” to “Unpleasant Truths”

In a cartoon Grant shared, a long line formed at the booth labeled “Comforting Lies,” while “Unpleasant Truths” sat empty. This captured much of what’s wrong in many organizations: we reward validation, not honesty. Yet it's the tough truths that power progress.

Don't Wait Until You Feel Ready

In closing, Grant shared a personal story about returning to competitive diving after a 12-year hiatus. Standing paralyzed at the edge of the board, his coach asked: “What are you waiting for?” The message: confidence isn’t a prerequisite. It’s the result of action.

Whether you're pitching a new security initiative, launching a bold strategy, or mentoring a future leader—don’t wait until you feel ready. Why not now?

Let’s keep pushing toward progress, not perfection. And if someone calls you a “logic bully” along the way—take it as a cue to turn down the prosecution, and turn up the curiosity.

BTW, there IS an "I" in Team... it's coincidentally (or ironically) "in the A-hole":

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