You Hired the Talent — Now Use It!

Why Recognising Expertise, Strength and Passion Is a Leadership Responsibility

Organisations invest enormous time and energy into recruitment.

We define competencies.

We outline role requirements.

We assess qualifications.

We evaluate experience.

We select for behavioural fit and potential.

We hire people because they match the skills and requirements of the role.

And if we are fortunate, we attract individuals who bring more than competence. They bring depth. Academic grounding. Professional credibility. Lived experience. Intellectual curiosity. Specialist expertise.

Yet across many organisations, something subtle but costly happens.

The very capability that secured the appointment becomes under-recognised, underused, or reduced to basic delivery.

The organisation hires expertise.

Leadership never fully activates it.

This is not a minor oversight.

It is a leadership responsibility.

Recruitment Is an Investment — Activation Is the Return

Recruitment is a strategic investment in human capital.

But investment alone does not produce impact.

Activation does.

Recognition is not about praise or ego. It is about accurate calibration of talent. It requires leaders to ask:

• What depth exists in this team?

• Where are we underutilising professional or academic expertise?

• Who has strengths we have not yet mobilised?

• Are we paying for capability but only using a fraction of it?

When recognition is absent, expertise becomes invisible.

When expertise becomes invisible, people reduce themselves to what is asked — not what they are capable of.

The Overlooked Power of Academic Practice

One of the most common blind spots in organisations is academic expertise.

Academic grounding is sometimes dismissed as theoretical or impractical. Yet applied academic practice strengthens operational effectiveness.

It brings:

• Evidence-based thinking

• Critical analysis

• Evaluation capability

• Systems awareness

• Research literacy

• Long-term strategic perspective

It challenges assumption.

It strengthens decision-making.

It reduces risk.

It improves sustainability.

When leaders fail to recognise academic depth that could be applied to practice, innovation suffers.

Those with research-informed insight often see ways to improve systems. They propose frameworks, evaluation methods, structured approaches.

If those contributions are dismissed or overlooked, something shifts.

They begin to feel “in the way.”

Not because they are resistant — but because their depth is not valued.

Over time, they stop offering.

Innovation stalls.

Productivity plateaus.

Habit replaces progress.

Leadership may interpret this as disengagement.

Often, it is under-recognition.

The Hidden Productivity Cost

Underutilised expertise carries a measurable cost.

When highly capable individuals are used only for routine tasks:

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• Strategic potential is wasted.

• Improvement opportunities are missed.

• Discretionary effort declines.

People contribute their best thinking when they believe it matters.

When they feel unheard, they conserve energy.

They deliver the job description — and nothing more.

Productivity is not just about output. It is about engagement, initiative and applied intelligence.

Recognition fuels all three.

Psychological Safety Erodes Quietly

Psychological safety is not simply about speaking without punishment. It is about feeling valued for your contribution.

When expertise is repeatedly overlooked, a silent message is communicated:

Your depth is unnecessary here.

Initially, individuals persist.

Over time — often within one to two years — they adjust.

They speak less.

They propose fewer ideas.

They disengage cognitively before they disengage physically.

Psychological safety rarely collapses in one moment.

It erodes through repeated non-recognition.

And once lost, rebuilding it requires visible behavioural change from leadership.

Strength and Passion: The Untapped Growth Engine

Beyond qualifications and academic expertise lies another powerful leadership opportunity: strength and passion.

People do not thrive solely because they are competent

They thrive where their strength and passion intersect.

Strength signals natural capability — areas where performance is strong, learning is quicker, and confidence is higher.

Passion signals intrinsic motivation — areas where curiosity, energy and commitment are naturally present.

When someone demonstrates both strength and passion in a particular area, leadership holds a critical choice:

Suppress it through narrow role definition.

Or develop it deliberately.

Here is the reality:

People develop their skill set fastest in areas they care about.

When they have passion for something, they will invest energy beyond requirement. They will read more. Explore more. Experiment more. Reflect more.

If they also have strength in that area, the growth potential multiplies.

But strength and passion do not grow in isolation.

They require validation.

The only way to develop passion sustainably is to recognise it and provide opportunity for it to be expressed.

When leaders acknowledge someone’s strength and passion:

• Confidence increases.

• Identity strengthens.

• Motivation deepens.

• Commitment grows.

When those strengths are ignored:

• Passion becomes frustration.

• Energy turns into disengagement.

• Potential remains unrealised.

Validation is not indulgence.

It is intelligent talent management.

If someone is passionate about organisational development, innovation, coaching, data, culture, learning, strategy — and demonstrates strength — leadership should be asking:

How can we create stretch here?

How can we align projects with this energy?

How can we support growth in this area?

Growth is not always vertical.

It is expansion of contribution.

When people feel their strengths are seen and their passions respected, they feel valued.

And feeling valued drives performance.

Growth Is Not a Perk — It Is a Leadership Obligation

There is a narrative in some organisations that development is an individual responsibility.

“Own your career.”

“Seek your own growth.”

While personal ownership matters, leadership cannot abdicate its role.

It is a leadership responsibility to deliver opportunity for growth.

Intentionally.

Consistently.

Strategically.

This includes:

• Creating stretch assignments aligned to strengths.

• Inviting academically grounded staff into strategic discussions.

• Encouraging evidence-based contributions.

• Providing visibility for specialist capability.

• Funding learning and professional development.

• Offering coaching and exposure.

Never underestimate the value of providing opportunity for growth and learning.

Opportunity communicates belief.

Belief strengthens performance.

The Two-Year Drift

Disengagement often follows a pattern.

Year One: Enthusiasm. Initiative. Contribution.

Year Two: Recognition gaps appear. Opportunity feels limited. Effort narrows.

By the end of that cycle, employees either psychologically detach or begin seeking environments where their expertise and strengths are valued.

Retention is not only about salary.

It is about future.

If leaders fail to create growth pathways, high-capability individuals will find them elsewhere.

Leadership as Talent Activation

Leadership is not simply direction-setting.

It is activation of capability.

Your organisation likely already contains:

• Academic expertise

• Professional accreditation

• Specialist depth

• Strength-based talent

• Passion-driven energy

The competitive advantage may already exist internally.

Recognition unlocks it.

Opportunity accelerates it.

Validation sustains it.

Final Reflection: You Hired Them for a Reason

You hired capability.

You hired experience.

You hired potential.

You hired strength.

You hired passion.

Leadership means ensuring people do not have to leave to use what they already bring.

It means recognising academic expertise.

Applying knowledge to practice.

Using strengths intentionally.

Nurturing passion strategically.

Protecting psychological safety.

Delivering real opportunity for growth.

Because when recognition is absent, capability contracts.

When opportunity is present, people expand.

And when people expand, organisations evolve.

Never underestimate the value of providing opportunity for growth and learning.

It is not an optional extra.

It is leadership in action.