A new Wolters Kluwer TeamMate survey of more than 2,400 internal audit professionals suggests many audit functions may be overlooking future leaders, with nearly 86% of respondents saying their teams include at least one person with untapped potential.
The findings were drawn from four live audience polls conducted during a July 14, 2026 Wolters Kluwer TeamMate webinar, From Quiet Potential to Bold Impact: Unlocking Leadership in Internal Audit. The session explored how audit functions can identify leadership potential at all levels, address systemic barriers to growth, and build a culture that develops influence, judgment, coaching, and stakeholder-centered thinking.
"The findings suggest most audit leaders believe future talent already exists within their teams," said Jim Pelletier, Lead Product Manager at Wolters Kluwer TeamMate. "The challenge is creating the expectations, coaching, and development opportunities needed to help those individuals grow and contribute at a higher level."
Untapped potential is common
One of the webinar's central themes was the idea that capability is not always found in the most visible employees. Survey respondents reported the following levels of untapped leadership potential within their audit functions:
- 14.2% said no such individuals exist in their organization
- 43.0% said they have one or two
- 32.8% said they have several
- 9.9% said they have too many
The results suggest that the challenge for many audit functions is not identifying talent, but creating environments where different styles can be recognized and developed.
Visibility bias may influence who gets noticed
The survey also revealed a significant perception gap around recognition. When opportunities arise, respondents believe the following leadership styles are most likely to be noticed first within their organizations:
- 51.5% said the charismatic extrovert
- 16.7% selected the visionary strategist
- 13.8% chose the diplomatic mediator
- 9.7% pointed to the analytical introvert
- 8.4% identified the process perfectionist
The findings suggest that visibility can play an outsized role in identifying high potential employees, possibly causing organizations to overlook individuals whose strengths may include sound judgment, collaboration, coaching, stakeholder communication, or strategic thinking rather than personal visibility. This reflects a broader discussion around the risk of equating confidence with potential and overlooking other valuable leadership styles.
Unclear expectations are the biggest barrier to leadership growth
When respondents were asked what most limits growth in their audit function, the leading answer was not a skills shortage or lack of technical expertise.
Key barriers cited include:
- 34.7% identified undefined leadership expectations
- 24.4% pointed to visibility bias
- 14.4% cited hero-leader dependency
- 14.0% highlighted risk aversion
- 12.5% identified technical over-rotation
These findings align with a broader challenge discussed during the webinar: many organizations expect employees to demonstrate leadership without clearly defining the behaviors, skills, and characteristics they are looking for. Without clear expectations, development conversations can become subjective and inconsistent, making it more difficult to understand how to grow.
Respondents also identified clarifying behaviors and increasing coaching conversations as the most impactful steps organizations could take to strengthen pipelines, reinforcing the need for more intentional approaches to development.
Building leadership as a system, not a title
Taken together, the survey results point to a profession that recognizes potential within its ranks but may not always have the structures in place to cultivate it.
As internal audit functions continue to expand their role in governance, risk management, compliance, and emerging technologies, the need for leadership capability across audit teams will only become more important.
Organizations can strengthen their pipeline by broadening how they identify potential, clarify expectations, and creating development pathways that help employees build influence, judgment, and skills throughout their careers.