I used to think the key strength in recruitment like any developmental sales role was pure inquisitiveness. Ask better questions, get better outcomes.
But I’ve learned something different this year.
The real foundation is resilience and grit. Not the loud kind. Not the “let me teach you how to be tougher” kind. The quiet kind that shows up when life gets heavy and you still keep going.
And yes it’s ironic to even write about grit when I’m not someone who shouts about it. But maybe that’s the point. 𝑮𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒓 “𝒕𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕”. I don’t believe we all need to be moulded into the same version of toughness. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦.
- Some people express strength loudly.
- Some people live it quietly.
- I’m comfortable being the latter.
What I’ve realised is this: 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 “𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒔”. 𝑾𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 through our choices, our consistency, and the way we show up for others. And that moment shouldn’t be taken for granted.
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑. Even under pressure. Even when life is complicated. That’s where perseverance and trust matter most.
I don’t want transactional wins or surface‑level relationships. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 people who operate with the same standards they expect from others.
Talent is a human world. The right people create the right outcomes for each other. And the best people add the most value when they’re surrounded by the best people.
This last year has been remarkably challenging, personally and professionally. But it’s also shown me something important: the good people keep showing up. Not loudly. Not for applause. Just consistently, in the ways that matter.
That’s the kind of world and the kind of work I want to build in 2026 and beyond.