Recruitment
Backing the NFP Sector Beyond the Bottom Line
At OnTalent, we believe that recruitment is about more than filling roles, it’s about connecting people to purpose. Anyone that
June 11, 2025
Every profession has its technicians, people who know the process, the systems, the steps. They deliver competence. They follow the playbook.
And then there are the people whisperers………………….
They’re harder to define, but once you’ve worked with one, you never forget it. A client said it to us recently, that working with us was like having “people whisperers” in the room. Not because we had all the answers, but because we consistently offered the kind of quiet, incisive insight that shifted how they saw a problem, a person, or a decision.
It stuck with me. Because it captures something that’s often invisible but profoundly valuable in business….the ability to truly understand people, not just manage them.
Great professionals understand roles, industries and market conditions. People whisperers understand “humans”.
They’re the ones asking a different set of questions:
These aren’t questions you find the answers to in a resume or a reference check. They come to the surface through deep listening, pattern recognition, and an authentic curiosity about what makes people tick.
As Daniel Goleman, the psychologist who popularised the concept of emotional intelligence, once wrote:
“The most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: they all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence.”
People whisperers operate from exactly this place, not from authority, but from attunement.
One of the defining traits of a people whisperer is “how” they influence outcomes.
There’s no urgency for control. No need to dominate a room. Instead, there is calm, measured confidence, the kind that invites people in rather than shutting them down.
They ask thoughtful questions. They pause when others rush. They create space for trust to form, and in that space, something powerful happens: people tell the truth. Clients articulate what they actually need rather than what they think they should say. Candidates reveal what truly matters to them. Teams surface the tension that’s been sitting unspoken beneath the surface.
Peter Drucker said it well: “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” That is the people whisperer’s superpower. They listen for what’s between the lines, the hesitation in a voice, the enthusiasm that doesn’t quite match the words, the pattern that reveals more than any data point ever could.
People whisperers don’t declare their expertise, it’s conferred on them by others.
Clients trust them with sensitive information long before a formal agreement demands it. Candidates seek their counsel, not just their job opportunities. Colleagues lean on their judgement in complex or ambiguous situations where the “right answer” isn’t obvious.
That trust compounds over time. And here’s the paradox: the longer someone operates as a people whisperer, the more they appreciate how much they “don’t” know. They become better not because they assume certainty, but because they’ve learned just how much nuance exists in human behaviour and how critical it is to remain curious rather than confident.
This is what separates genuine insight from assumption. The best people whisperers carry a healthy humility about the complexity of the people they serve.
While some people have a natural inclination toward this skill, it deepens meaningfully with time.
Each conversation adds data. Each placement, each hire, each negotiation adds perspective. Each misstep, and there are always missteps, adds wisdom.
With experience comes the ability to spot patterns before they become problems, to anticipate challenges before they escalate, and to guide conversations toward better outcomes – quietly, confidently, and with integrity.
It’s not instinct alone. It’s informed instinct, the kind that comes from thousands of human interactions, processed through a lens of genuine care and intellectual honesty.
In a world increasingly driven by speed, metrics, AI, and automation, the people whisperer stands out, not as a relic of a softer era, but as an essential counterbalance.
Because here’s what technology cannot replicate: the ability to sit with someone and sense that what they’re saying and what they’re feeling are two different things. The ability to hold space for a difficult conversation. The ability to read a room, recalibrate an approach in real time, and connect with people in a way that shifts outcomes.
Recruitment, advisory, leadership – at their core, these disciplines are still fundamentally about humans. About trust. About judgement. About understanding people in context, not in isolation.
When you’re fortunate enough to work with a ‘people whisperer’, you don’t just get a recruiter, a coach, a consultant, or an adviser. You get a partner who helps people make decisions they feel good about long after the contract is signed, the hire is made, the coaching is done, or the strategy is set.
That is a rare skill. And one worth recognising, celebrating, and investing in – both in others and in yourself.
I ask you – have you worked with a people whisperer? Or perhaps you are one? I’d love to hear what “people whispering” looks like in your world – share your thoughts in the comments.
At OnTalent, we believe that recruitment is about more than filling roles, it’s about connecting people to purpose. Anyone that
How culture drives ethical behaviour and governance Earlier this month, I was pleased to facilitate a focus session on behalf
Are you content in your current job, is it fulfilling, does it fit with your career direction and align with
"*" indicates required fields