HLP Leadership Newsletter · September 2026
Potential does not always arrive with the perfect CV.
Opening thought
I interviewed a young man called Tariq this week for a potential Trainee Surveyor role. He does not have years of surveying experience or the traditional route behind him. But I came off the call thinking: wow, this guy is on point. He was prepared, curious, switched on and completely open about how much he still has to learn. It reminded me that sometimes the most important thing a leader can see is not what someone has done — but what they could become.
The reality
We talk constantly about skills shortages and how difficult it is to find good people. Yet so many businesses still recruit almost entirely on previous experience. Experience matters, of course. But if we only hire the finished article, who is creating the experienced people of tomorrow? Every brilliant senior person was once inexperienced. Somebody saw something in them before the evidence was all there.
What leaders often miss
- A CV tells you what someone has done. It cannot always tell you how they think, how hungry they are or how quickly they can learn.
- Confidence is not the same as potential. Curiosity, preparation, self-awareness and ownership often tell you far more.
- Developing talent is not lowering the bar. It is recognising that some of the best people need an opportunity before they can prove themselves.
The cost
When businesses only compete for proven people, they keep fishing in the same pool. Salaries rise, vacancies stay open and potential talent gets overlooked. Developing people takes time, but continually buying experience has a cost too. The strongest teams do both: they recruit expertise and they create it.
Clarity. Courage. Change.
Clarity — Be clear about what the role genuinely needs on day one and what can be taught.
Courage — Give the person who does not look perfect on paper a proper conversation.
Change — Recruit for potential as deliberately as you recruit for experience.
A question worth asking
Are we only rewarding what people have already proved — or are we creating an environment where potential can become performance?
Action this week
Choose one person you might normally overlook — a trainee, junior, career changer or non-traditional candidate — and give them 20 minutes. Ask how they think, what they have done to prepare, what they want to learn and why this opportunity matters to them. You may still say no. But at least make the decision after meeting the person, not just reading the CV.
Work with HLP
HLP works with leaders and teams to see people more clearly — their strengths, potential, behaviours and the conversations that unlock better performance. Leadership development and coaching built around Clarity. Courage. Change.
If you would like to have a conversation, get in touch with HLP.
“Do not just recruit the person someone is today. Learn to recognise who they could become.”
Lezanne | HLP Life Powered
Leadership Development • Coaching • People Insight
Clarity. Courage. Change.