Most organizations still see hiring as a numbers game: find the resume that checks the boxes, fill the role, and move on. But in today’s competitive landscape, talent management can’t be treated as transactional.

Growth doesn’t come from plugging holes; it comes from seeing people as the strategy itself. As Laura Sorrell shares, the companies that thrive are the ones willing to rethink how they manage, mentor, and align their talent.

Too often, leaders focus on the immediate need, backfilling a position, shoring up capacity, or meeting short-term demands, without considering the bigger picture. When organizations reduce hiring to a quick fix, they miss the opportunity to shape their future. 

True talent management requires asking deeper questions: What skills will drive us forward? How can we create an environment where people grow alongside the business? Companies that embrace this mindset stop reacting to vacancies and start designing pathways that unlock long-term growth, which is why leaders like Laura are rethinking talent as a strategic advantage.

Meet Our Guest, Laura Sorrell, Practice Leader at Sorrell

With more than 30 years of experience in executive search, Laura Sorrell brings a rare blend of insight and expertise to the table. She began her career at Korn/Ferry International and has since specialized in C-level and board-level searches across industries, from corporate giants to nonprofits and closely held companies.

Known as a “Change Whisperer,” Laura has guided CEOs through high-stakes transitions, mentored the next generation of leaders, and helped organizations rethink their talent management and succession planning. Rather than simply filling roles, she partners with boards and executives to align leadership, culture, and strategy, ensuring organizations are equipped for today’s challenges and for the future they’re building.

Listen on Spotify - Laura Sorrell on Rethink Change

How Laura is Rethinking Talent Management

Traditional recruiting is built on one premise: find someone who looks like what you’ve always had. But as Sorrell points out, that only gets you more of the same. For organizations that want to grow, “cookie-cutter hiring” doesn’t work. More often than not, it just holds you back. Instead, talent management has to shift from acquisition to progression. That means asking not just who can do the job today, but who can help shape what’s possible tomorrow.

Sorrell encourages leaders to treat candidates the way they treat customers. The best companies create experiences that show potential hires they aren’t just being slotted into a role, they’re being invited into a future. That reframing turns hiring into a strategic advantage, where every conversation is about potential, growth, and value creation. It’s no longer about filling roles; it’s about designing a trajectory.

Creating a Culture Built with Dialogue and Action

If talent is the engine of growth, culture is the operating system that keeps it running. And Sorrell emphasizes that culture can’t be imposed from above or left to form in silos below; it has to be built in dialogue. Leadership and teams need to stay in constant conversation, aligning not just on goals but on behaviors, rhythms, and expectations.

When leaders fail to define culture collaboratively, employees default to “just doing the work,” without understanding the why behind it. The risk is fragmentation: different groups pulling in different directions. The opportunity is alignment: agreeing on the North Star and being explicit about how the organization gets there. Respect, transparency, and the willingness to admit when you’re wrong become the glue that holds culture together.

Sorrell puts it simply: leadership has to participate. Culture is never a finished product; it evolves as the business evolves. The best leaders don’t dictate culture; they co-create it with their people.

The Future of Leadership Begins with Mentorship

Perhaps the most overlooked lever in talent management is mentorship. In an age of AI and automation, it’s tempting to think that data and tools will shape the future of work. And while this is true to an extent, Sorrell makes the case that mentorship is still the most powerful accelerator for growth.

She describes working with CEOs who embed junior talent in every meeting, every client call, every decision, not to watch passively, but to participate, reflect, and learn in real time. These aren’t interns running errands; they’re future leaders being trained through iteration, feedback, and hands-on development. The result is smarter, more confident employees who can step into leadership because they’ve been guided, not just handed information.

Mentorship, in this sense, is more than professional courtesy. It’s a strategic investment. Organizations that embed mentorship into their culture don’t just fill today’s roles; they build tomorrow’s leaders. And in an era defined by disruption, that might be the most sustainable advantage a company can create.