Who Do You Invite Onto Your Bus?

Rethinking How We Recruit and Grow the Next Generation of Talent

A few years ago, while leading a finance department, I began searching for a personal assistant,

Someone who could help me manage the constant flow of tasks, deadlines, and operational demands that came with my role.

I expected the typical recruitment journey: review CVs, check boxes, match skills.

But then came a candidate who turned my entire logic on its head.

He had no administrative background.
No finance experience.
Not even a hint of familiarity with the structured world of spreadsheets, reporting, or department coordination.

He was an artist, professionally and by nature, simply looking for a steady income to keep developing his craft.

By every technical measure, he was the wrong hire.
And yet… he had something none of the others had.

A spark.

An ability to connect with people, an inherent kindness, a creative spirit, and a completely different color than anyone else in the team.

Where others brought skills, he brought humanity. Where others brought experience, he brought possibility.

Guess what? I hired him

The Power of Choosing “Who” Before “What”

Jim Collins, in Good to Great, famously writes that before leaders decide what they want to achieve,

They must decide who they want with them on the journey.

“First who, then what.”

While he struggled with organizational and admin tasks, even months into the role,

The value he brought to the team was immeasurable.

He elevated the energy in the department.

He listened deeply to colleagues.

He created joyful social moments that strengthened our culture.

He led authentically, simply by being who he was.

He wasn’t hired for leadership. But leadership is exactly what he brought.

That experience taught me a powerful lesson:

Skills can be taught. Spirit cannot.

And sometimes, the person who seems like a mismatch on paper is the very person your culture needs most.

The Hidden Gap in Junior Development

Organizations today invest enormous resources in recruiting juniors:
The right CVs, the right tools, the right onboarding plans.

But what happens the day after they join?

The truth is, many juniors enter the organization full of ambition, curiosity, and potential

only to discover that their role is too narrow, too technical, or too disconnected from purpose

They want to feel they matter.
They want to know their presence has an impact.
They want room to lead, even without a title.

When we don’t intentionally nurture that, we lose them.
Not because they lack loyalty,
but because they crave growth. they crave mattering

And if they can’t find it in your organization,
they will move on …

Cultivating Personal Leadership without title everywhere

Employees don’t need titles to lead.
They need:

A sense of purpose
A feeling of belonging
Opportunities to influence
Mentors and managers who see their potential
Space to express their unique strengths
Encouragement to bring their whole selves to work

When organizations invest in personal leadership

Not as a buzzword but as a real development path, everything changes:

Teams become stronger.
Culture becomes richer.
Innovation increases.
And people stay.

Because they’re not just on the bus.
They’re part of the organizational journey.

Rina:)