“Can They Do This Thing?” vs. “How Could They Be Successful In Doing It?”
Human potential is a tricky thing, and there are a lot of inputs and biases therein. Sadly I don’t think most white-collar managers actually manage towards the maximization of human potential; I think they manage to make sure tasks are done and subsequently, make sure they (the manager) looks good to their boss. There really isn’t much more to it than that, for a lot of people.