Here is not a bad article from HBR about “unleashing overlooked talent,” and I’ll just direct you to the part that matters before we get into this more deeply:

https://hbr.org/2022/07/unleash-your-organizations-overlooked-talent?ab=hero-subleft-1

WHY does talent get ignored?

• Most managers are busy, with “busy” supposedly meaning “productive” (it does not, truly) and usually “busy” also meaning “I get a lot of email, most of which I could delete, but I don’t delete it so I can complain about the volume of email.” You just say “It’s the busy season!” or “Everything is so crazy right now!” and you’re good. That allows you to not notice talent.

• Everything about white-collar work is tied to tasks. All that matters to most managers is people completing tasks. Tasks tasks tasks. Most places are barely “strategic” whatsoever. When you are largely being judged on tasks, it is nearly impossible to be seen for talent. Your managers can only look at you as “x-amount of deliverables this cycle,” etc.

• Talent actually scares a lot of managers, because it represents someone potentially coming for their perch, and that’s terrifying to them. It’s oddly in the incentive structure of most managers to suppress new talents in the name of personal relevance and income earning potential, even though the company claims to care about “innovation” and “world-shifting ideas.” Funny, no?

• It’s easier and more comfortable to put people in boxes. A security guard is a security guard. He’s not a docent. That’s fucking crazy, Janet. Go get me a burrito for lunch.