Over twenty years in recruitment, working across industries and countries, I’ve learned that performance is rarely about capability alone. More often, it’s shaped by the environment people are asked to operate in. Pressure doesn’t suddenly create character; it reveals what was already there. And when people struggle, it’s seldom because they lack talent—it’s because they’ve run out of space.
Space to think clearly.
Space to ask questions.
Space to be human while still being expected to perform.
Modern workplaces obsess over outputs. We track targets, KPIs, and productivity metrics with precision, yet we spend far less time examining the conditions under which those results are produced. We assume clarity exists. We assume people feel safe. And in that gap between assumption and reality, trust quietly erodes.
I’ve seen highly capable people unravel under pressure, not because they were weak, but because expectations were never truly articulated. They were told to “figure it out” without context, direction, or support. Silence became the standard, and uncertainty became the culture. Over time, that silence weighed heavier than any workload ever could.
What experience has shown me is this: people perform best when clarity comes first, trust follows, and belonging anchors everything else. In that order. Fear may deliver short-term results, but it always sends the invoice later—and it’s usually paid in burnout, disengagement, or quiet exits that leaders never see coming.
This lesson didn’t come easily. I’ve had to confront my own missteps along the way. Early in my career, I mistook urgency for leadership. I pushed harder when I should have listened longer. I believed pressure would sharpen people, when in reality it often dulled confidence and strained relationships. That realisation was uncomfortable, but necessary.
Leadership, I’ve learned, isn’t defined by how hard you drive outcomes. It’s defined by how safe people feel telling you the truth, especially when that truth is inconvenient. Culture doesn’t show up in strategy documents or vision statements. It reveals itself when things go wrong, when deadlines tighten, and when pressure arrives early and stays late.
Performance can be measured. Culture must be felt.
At LM4 Group, this understanding shapes how we think about people, systems, and leadership. We aim to create environments that stretch individuals without shrinking them, where pressure exists but purpose keeps it grounded. Because performance without care is extractive, and people always know when they’re being mined rather than built.
After twenty years, the lesson is simple but profound: if you want better results, don’t ask people to be tougher. Build clarity. Build trust. Build environments where confidence can grow. When you do, performance follows, not at the expense of people, but because of them.
All in all, I’m still learning, and always open to feedback.