The journey to formal leadership often begins when someone else recognizes a staff member's potential, someone who has confidence in this person's ability. Thirty nurse managers gathered in San Diego last July as part of AONE's Nurse Manager Fellowship professional development program, during which I conducted a session focusing on the nurse manager as coach. I invited attendees to complete a written survey about their journey to their management position. Seventy-five percent reported that they'd had no interest in such a job when they started out in nursing. Ninety-six percent indicated that their interest in management was prompted when someone else frequently a manager or director told them they had leadership potential and encouraged and supported them in their pursuit of this opportunity.