Why Empathy, Adaptability, and a Lack of Ego Unlock Hidden Talent
By Jeffrey Reis
In my last article, I talked about the power of being a “leadership chameleon”—meeting people where they are, instead of swinging a hammer and hoping everyone magically becomes a nail. But there’s a second layer to this, one that has shaped every company I have ever built.
Some of the most talented people you will ever work with are the ones most leaders overlook. Not because they lack skill. Not because they lack drive. But because personality quirks, communication gaps, or perceived “difficult traits” convince less adaptive leaders to pass them by.
I learned early that ignoring these people is a costly mistake.
The Most Brilliant Minds Don’t Always Come Wrapped in MBA Packaging
My very first software company was powered by engineers who were, frankly, operating on a different frequency than most of the business world. Their communication style was direct. Blunt. Sometimes abrasive. Sometimes quiet to the point of disappearing. Some preferred email novels; others preferred one-sentence answers. And a few seemed allergic to anything that resembled traditional company structure. But they were brilliant—truly brilliant. The kind of brilliance you cannot teach or buy.
Years earlier, working for the FAA designing air traffic management systems, I had already learned this pattern: the people who build the most sophisticated systems are rarely the loudest in the room. They are rarely the most relatable. And they often do not fit neatly into corporate culture boxes. What they do have is world-class capability—if you can unlock it.
The Unlock Isn’t Process. It’s Empathy.
To lead people like this, I had to set aside ego and adopt the same mindset that kept me sane on that Navy ship years earlier: Be curious. Be flexible. Be human. Not every brilliant engineer communicates like a polished extrovert. Not every high performer wants public praise. Not every genius wants to lead. Some need space, some need precision, some need reassurance, some need a sounding board. What most of them need, however, is for you to simply listen long enough to understand what actually motivates them.
Most leaders don’t do this work because they assume a uniform standard of behavior is “efficient.” But forcing everyone into one behavioral mold destroys trust—and trust is the single most important currency for extracting consistent, high-level performance. “Servant leadership” became a buzz term in the business world, and often cliches become cliches because they are oft-repeated truths.
The Chameleon Approach Builds Loyalty Most Leaders Will Never Experience
When you adapt your style to meet someone else’s reality, something subtle but powerful happens:
People feel seen, not managed. And when people feel seen, they give you everything they have—not because you demanded it, but because you earned it. Across all my companies, the same pattern has repeated.
Engineers, analysts, operators, creatives—people who might otherwise be dismissed as “difficult,” became some of the most loyal, committed, high-performing team members. Not because I solved their quirks, but because I worked with them.
That mutual trust also created something else – the ability to give brutally honest feedback without losing people. When the relationship is built on empathy instead of ego, honesty becomes a sign of respect rather than criticism. People want to improve when they know the person guiding them is invested in their success—not their conformity.
The Real Leadership Advantage: Seeing Value Others Overlook
Leadership isn’t about attracting perfectly polished talent that never ruffles feathers. Anyone can lead that team, and honestly, very few real businesses are built on it. The real advantage—the one that compounds over time—is the ability to recognize the quiet genius, the misunderstood expert, the unconventional thinker, and the brilliant misfit. Take the time others don’t, the time to listen the way others won’t, and to build trust as a result where others can’t. When you do that, something remarkable happens. You build a team that doesn’t just work for you—they build with you. You create a culture where talent stays for years, not months. And you unlock performance levels that most leaders never even see, because they never knew the potential was there.
If Part One Was About Adapting, Part Two Is About Seeing
Seeing the full human.
Seeing past the rough edges.
Seeing brilliance in unexpected packaging.
That’s where loyalty is born, that’s where performance ignites, and that’s where enduring companies—my own included—find the engine that pushes them from good to exceptional.
The leaders who win aren’t the ones who demand uniformity. They’re the ones who recognize talent where others see friction—and adapt themselves so others can thrive. If you can do that consistently, you won’t just get the most out of your people. You’ll build teams that stay, grow, and win with you for the long haul.