Category: Leadership

What Employers Miss in Job Ads

Paul Wagenaar

Some people will read every word of this guide.

Some will skim it and take away only one idea.

Both are enough to make a difference.

I didn’t write this to create another checklist or another compliance document. I wrote it because I believe one simple truth:
Job advertisements are not administrative documents; they are human invitations.

Every word we choose tells someone whether they belong, whether they will be valued, and whether they can picture themselves succeeding before they ever walk through the door.

If this feels longer than most hiring advice, that’s intentional.

Hiring shapes organizations, careers, families, and futures. It deserves more than a template copied from ten years ago.

Take one idea. Take ten. Come back to the rest later.

Because sometimes changing a single sentence in a job advertisement changes the person who decides to apply, and that one decision can change the future of an entire team.

Conferences and Trade Shows – The Lie We Tell Ourselves

Paul Wagenaar

Most people don’t go to conferences to change anything.

They go to feel like they are.

They take notes. They nod. They leave inspired. Then nothing changes.

A smaller group does something else. They pick one idea and act, when it’s inconvenient, messy, and unpopular.

That’s the edge.

It’s not access to ideas. It’s the courage to use them.

The difference isn’t what you learned. It’s what you chose to do with it.

How the flow of ideas slowly freezes … and starts to feel normal.

Paul Wagenaar

Rigidity doesn’t usually announce itself.

It shows up as discipline. As process. As “the way we’ve always done it.”

But underneath, it’s often something else entirely: fear disguised as control.
And the longer we hold onto it, the more it quietly limits what we, and the organizations we are part of, are capable of becoming.

Stop Treating Everyone the Same – Accommodations aren’t the problem … our assumptions are

Paul Wagenaar

This is a longer read than usual, but it’s written that way intentionally.

Because the way we think about accommodations, fairness, and performance in the workplace is often oversimplified, and those oversimplifications shape how people are supported, evaluated, and sometimes misunderstood.

If you’ve ever questioned whether “treating everyone the same” is actually fair in practice, this is worth your time.

Shine a Light on the Darkness: Seeing Through Misinformation and Media Noise

Paul Wagenaar

Most of what we see isn’t designed to inform us, it’s designed to move us.

Not toward truth, but toward reaction.

The real skill isn’t knowing everything, it’s knowing when to pause, question, and look a little closer before deciding what’s real.

Coaching Minor Sports: If They Come Back, You Got It Right

Paul Wagenaar

Children’s and youth sports start and finish all the time, whether at the beginning, middle, or end of a season. What matters is not the scoreboard or the record, but the experiences they carry with them during the season, and especially when it ends.

Coaching minor sports is not about winning games. It’s about building confidence, creating belonging, and giving kids a reason to come back. If they come back, you got it right.

Inside the Interview Part 5:

Paul Wagenaar

Most people think hiring decisions are about choosing the best candidate.
They’re not.
Hiring is about removing enough doubt to say yes.
And once you understand that interviews start to make a lot more sense.

A Simple Tool to Expose How Candidates Really Think

Paul Wagenaar

Most hiring mistakes happen before the interview begins.

Resumes can be polished, charm can be rehearsed, and yet the person you hire may not be the one your organization truly needs. A simple pre-interview questionnaire reveals how candidates think, respond under pressure, and treat people they believe won’t influence their outcome.

Hiring isn’t about perfection—it’s about understanding real thinking before it costs you.

Inside the Interview – Part 2: What Happens When a Hire Goes Wrong

Paul Wagenaar

Most managers hate admitting when a hire isn’t working out.

So they delay the conversation.

They hope the problem fixes itself.

Or they quietly tolerate issues that affect the whole team.

But ignoring a bad fit rarely solves anything. Sooner or later every leader faces the same reality: not every hire works out.

In the latest article in my Inside the Interview series, I talk about what good managers actually do when hiring goes wrong, and how to handle the situation professionally, fairly, and responsibly.

I Thought I Understood My Community. I Was Wrong.

Paul Wagenaar

Six years ago, I left the “for-profit” world for a short-term non-profit contract. I didn’t know what to expect, nor if I’d even be accepted or be useful.

What I found was a world full of steep learning curves, invisible heroes, and challenges I’d never imagined. In six years, I’ve learned more about my community, the struggles with poverty, addiction, housing, and systemic barriers, than decades in retail ever taught me.

I’ve seen incredible people pour heart and soul into work with no guarantees, no recognition, just a relentless drive to make a difference. Their dedication reshaped how I approach leadership, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Next month, I step into a new volunteer role as the Chairperson of our United Way, inspired to encourage others to act: support charities, lift wages, donate time, and focus on long-term impact. Real change isn’t about us, it’s about the people and communities we live in.